


A Grin Made For War

by Endeavourment



Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: BAMF Haruno Sakura, F/M, Family, Haruno Sakura-centric, Multi, Nejire is a ball of sunshine, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sakura Hadou, Sakura gets adopted, Sakura has PTSD, Sakura slowly learns to move on, Sakura swears, Slight OOC Sakura, serious topics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2020-09-24 04:57:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20352769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endeavourment/pseuds/Endeavourment
Summary: Death. Destruction. Everyone was dead. Maybe it was her own fault? Could she have have done something? No, no...of course not. He'd wiped everything out within an instant. A single roar of "All-mighty push", and then everything had come tumbling down, her world dulling before her very eyes.A villain who had proclaimed himself a God. Sakura knew him as Pain. That was not his name.Her vision had blurred, but she'd summoned enough energy to stumble over to Musutafu and seek aid. Blue hair and the brightest smile welcomed her; obnoxious at first, but Sakura had learned to appreciate Nejire's kindness.A journey on which Sakura tries to find herself once again, anaesthetised by the horrors she had witnessed.A promise was made between two sisters.And then, Sakura is on the path to becoming one of the world's greatest heroes.





	1. Despoliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First story on Archive of Our Own, so please forgive any mistakes I may have made as I'm not too familiar with the functions of this website. More notes at the end so I don't spoil anything.

Somewhere, in the middle of all the wreckage and carnage and destruction, a twelve-year-old cried; tears cascading down her unusually pale features like frozen waterfalls. Sobs and screams of pain tore their way from her throat as she choked on the utter surrealism of it all. At this point, she couldn't even tell whether the blood clinging to her form was hers or not.  
  
"Please..." she croaked out, stumbling over her own feet as her calloused hands dug through the debris and tossed it away, looking to find someone - _anyone_ \- and begging that she had not been the only survivor. "Please, don't leave me! _I can't be the only one!_"  
  
When only blood and mangled limbs met her view, another devastated sob wracked her body, sending waves of pain rolling through her as her broken ribs ached in protest at the action.  
  
She'd already long come to terms with the fact that her parents were dead. There was no doubt about it. She'd seen her house - or what was _left_ of it; the blood seeping through the rocks as if it wanted the girl to see the mess the catastrophe had left them in.  
  
Inner was quiet, uncharacteristically so. No snarky, mocking remark on her tongue. No, she mourned; for her and her host shared the same bonds, and the same family. They had experienced the same tribulations, overcome the same hardships, and so the blow to Inner was as lethal as it was to the twelve-year-old herself.  
  
As the pink-haired girl turned her head, harsh reality seemed to kick in. Calamity, calamity and ruin everywhere. There was no way anyone had survived.  
  
"No..._No_..." She choked out on a cry, her emerald eyes hollow and lacking their usual shine. "You can't..._you can't do this to me..."_  
  
She curled up on herself, hugging her scraped knees and allowing herself to mourn for her village. Her injuries screamed and objected at every slight movement she made, and she couldn't even find it in her to send chakra to the offending wounds.  
  
White met the corner of her eye, and the girl glanced up at the slug that had sidled up to her side. The bags under the child's eyes spoke volumes on how desperate she was to receive some good news from her partner. Not that she was hopeful, or expecting any, for that matter.  
  
"I'm sorry." The slug simply whispered, shaking her head.  
  
The pinkette had never hated those two words more in her entire life.

* * *

It wasn't long until heroes and police officers flooded the scene, screaming orders at their colleagues to move the wreckage and search for any survivors. The words "don't bother looking, I already did," died on her tongue when she moved to spit the vitriolic taste from her mouth.  
  
It was better for them to assume there were a few who had lived and finding out that they had been wrong in their assumption rather than them discovering that there was only one survivor by proxy of a child. Besides, the pinkette wasn't sure if she could handle the pitying looks they would send her as they questioned whether she needed coddling by a therapist.  
  
That being said, the child stalked away from the remains of the village and headed in the direction of the nearest city, wiping crimson blood from her mouth. She decided not to dwell in thought about whose blood that had been.

* * *

The city was large. Larger than her village. That was her first thought.  
  
Bright, scintillating light met her view from the large electronical screens dangling overhead naive citizens as people happily chatted around her, oblivious to the situation that was occuring only a few miles South of their safe haven.  
  
The odd looks she received as she stalked down the street did not deter her from her search; they only reminded her of her state, and that, in turn, served to fuel her endeavour to seek out aid.  
  
She didn't doubt that she looked unusual, what with the blood gilting her features and the white slug perched on her shoulder. Her red quipao hung off of her in tatters, and the small stagger to her step revealed the fact that she was injured, as did how she was clinging harshly to the underside of her ribs.  
  
"Are you sure you wish to avoid authorities?" Her slug questioned her quietly, as if she were being careful not to upset the already traumatised girl. "They may be of help."  
  
"What, and let them poke and prod at me asking if I'm sure my mental state is stable? No thanks," she hoarsely hissed, more so due to the pain of overexerting her lungs than being irritated with her summon's suggestion. "Journalists would want their fair share of answers, too. Don't act as if I don't know how overbearingly obnoxious Musutafu reporters can be, Katsuyu..."  
  
Katsuyu's concerned, dubious glance was enough for the pinkette to realise that the slug did not agree with her methods. Nevertheless, the slug realised a sigh of defeat.  
  
"If that is your wish, I will not object." Katsuyu replied, gentle. The slug began to shuffle, looking down at the child's torso. "Would you not prefer if I healed that?"  
  
"It's nothing." She insisted, shaking her head. She glanced at Katsuyu and inhaled a deep breath of air that sent a pang of pain through her ribs, before looking around the crowd of people with wary eyes. "And...I'd rather if you preserved chakra. I've heard that it's not uncommon for villains to be stalking around in this city."  
  
The girl continued to stalk onwards with a slight limp, biting her lip and muffling a cry when she accidentally tripped over herself and was forced to drop her hands to the floor to avoid smashing her face into the concrete. She visibly shook for a few moments as she endured the excruciating agony that almost ripped a cracked rib out of place.  
  
She panted slightly when the pain passed, shakily heaving herself up from off the floor, pointedly ignoring Katsuyu's stare drilling a hole into the side of her face.  
  
"Sak-"  
  
"I said it's nothing, okay!?" Her harsh voice bit back, momentarily surprised at her own volume when a few bystanders turned to gaze at the unorthodox pair. She lowered her tone a bit more, calmly staring ahead of her as she began to walk once more. "I just...want to be prepared if something happens."  
  
"You can hardly be prepared if you are stumbling all over the place like you just demonstrated." Katsuyu's disapproving voice replied. "If chakra is the problem, you know I can easily pull some from the Byak-"  
  
_"Drop it."_ The child's eerily low voice demanded, her death-promising glare making onlookers shuffle to the side and create a parting for her.  
  
Katsuyu's eyes lingered on her master as if she were pulling her apart piece by piece and analysing her inner workings. The slug knew exactly why the girl continued to protest.  
  
"Tsunade-hime would not want you to continue on with an injury. What is the first rule she taught you? You are the front-line medic. You must be the first to be healed." Katsuyu stated, and didn't miss the way the girl's shoulder stiffened underneath her. "If it is a matter of thinking you are stealing from her, you are not. She would want you-"  
  
"Yeah? Well it doesn't _matter_ what she wants anymore, Katsuyu, because she's _dead!_" She openly yelled in reply, her emotions finally catching up to her as stray tears escaped her eyes. She shot a fatal glower to whoever decided to stop and stare at her, which thankfully had the civilians minding their own business. "She's dead, and she...she's not coming back, so..."  
  
The pink-haired child quietened down as her shoulders shook silently, holding an arm up to her eyes and rubbing her eyes furiously as an annoyed growl fell from her throat.  
  
She would _not_ allow herself to cry. She'd already done enough of that.  
  
"I'll do it when I'm ready, Katsuyu. But not now. Not right now." She whispered, earning an apologetic glance from the slug.  
  
"I understand. I should have taken your mental state into account when requesting that you do such a...currently tabboo thing." Katsuyu responded, nodding respectfully. "I apologise."  
  
The pinkette shook her head, and that was the end of the discussion as she dispelled Katsuyu.

* * *

The girl thought it was mere coincidence that she had stumbled, quite literally, upon the prestigious school of UA. There were powerful children there, right? Surely there would be one that could help her.  
  
It was then that the child turned the corner and bumped into an older girl, knocking both of them over.  
  
The pink-headed child closed her eyes in a wince, gritting her teeth as her hands clamped tightly onto her sleeve as she once again endured the waves of pain that rolled throughout her chest.  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I'm such an airhead." A bubbly laugh was elicited from the catalyst, whom the child discovered to be a UA student with blue hair that trailed down her back in spirals, and big, azure eyes. She extended a hand out to the girl, mouth opening in a smile as she prepared to offer her assistance, only to faulter and widen her eyes at the girl's appearance. "Woah! What happened to you? Are you hurt?"  
  
"...My ribs. They're broken." The girl begrudgingly admitted, glancing down at her torso. Big emerald eyes stared up at concerned ocean blue ones.  
  
"R-really? H-hold on! Let me go and get a teacher!" The blue-haired girl waved her hands in a panic before twirling around and racing off into the gates of UA.  
  
The pink-haired child continued to sit on the floor, blinking widely.  
  
It wasn't long until the older girl came racing back, a small elderly woman dressed in medical clothing at her side. The grey-haired granny raised her eyebrows in shock, widening her eyes.  
  
"Well, Hadou-chan, it seems you were telling the truth. She does seem to be in quite a state." The woman noted, analysing the pink-haired girl thoroughly. 'Hadou' nodded vehemently. "Hmm, she doesn't seem to be a threat. Especially with injuries like those. Why don't you come inside for a minute, dear? I can treat your injuries and then you can be on your way."  
  
"...Yes, thank you." The child mumbled after a few moments of hesitation; a small, abashed red tint shading her cheeks.

* * *

"Well, all better!" The granny, Recovery Girl, she had learned, commented after giving the child a curt smooch on the cheek. "Luckily your ribs were still alligned despite being broken, so we didn't have to do surgery to fish out any pieces or anything like that. I won't ask how you got these injuries as I respect your privacy, but I will tell you to be a bit more careful next time. You don't know what trouble you might've gotten into had Hadou-chan not bumped into you."  
  
"Literally!" Hadou added enthusiastically, a small immature giggle weaselling its way from her lips. Her laughter subsided and trailed off as she viewed the despondent, hollow countenance on the pinkette's face. Hadou frowned, deciding what to do with the girl. "Uh...hey. Want me to walk you out?  
  
The girl glanced up at Hadou without an expression, and merely nodded. She jumped off of the recovery table and was relieved when her bones didn't yell in pain, and followed the blue-haired girl out of the room and down the hallway.  
  
She silently trailed after Hadou as the older girl bit her lip awkwardly, not too used to being quiet for long.  
  
"So!" Hadou tried uncomfortably in an attempt to cut through the thick silence. The tension was slowly beginning to crush her demeanour too. When the girl glanced up at Hadou, the UA student smiled awkwardly. "Uh, rough day for you, huh?"  
  
The girl returned her gaze forward, taciturn. Hadou found a pout sitting on her own lips at being ignored. Maybe she didn't want to talk about it. It was understandable.  
  
They walked in silence until they reached the gate, to which Hadou whirled around as if she had only just remembered something.  
  
"Oh! I forgot to ask what your name was." She admitted sheepishly, before offering a bright smile. "I'm Nejire Hadou, a first year at UA! You can call me Nejire-chan if you want. That's gonna be my hero name after all. What about you?"  
  
The girl lowered her gaze, pausing, before inhaling a small breath.  
  
"Sakura." She replied. Her eyes roved up to meet Nejire's. "Just Sakura."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was originally going to be an orphan!Sakura AU, but after reading a certain Hadou!Sakura AU I fell in love with the idea of Nejire being a big sister to Sakura in this universe. 
> 
> Because it had started out as an orphan!Sakura AU, all the notes and arcs I had written out were based on the fact that Sakura's family was dead and whatnot. So, deciding that it would have been too much work to rewrite this, I then decided that adoption was the next best thing, and here we are.
> 
> I know the whole Konoha thing is pretty confusing right now, but hopefully it will begin to make sense in the upcoming chapters. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is 100% welcomed, as I'm always looking for more ways to improve my work. If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave comments and kudos as they fuel my desire to write. Please comment any mistakes/spelling errors so I can correctly fix them. Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Inspiration for the Nejire-big-sister AU comes from "Hear My Battlecry Watch Me Fall" by "talesfromatypewriter". I suggest giving it a read :)


	2. Lamentation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter's here. Thank you guys for the kudos and comments, I love you guys so much! Once again, sorry for any things that seem OOC or unintelligible as this is my first proper story :)

Sakura quickly found that she could now walk down the fairly clean streets without stumbling at every corner. Recovery Girl had managed to clean some blood off of her form, but it had been no where near all of it. Dark stains remained clinging to her tattered quipao and some blood continued to sit, dried, on her arm. She was still in no way presentable.

Moving past her appearance, Sakura had been able to find aid and get herself healed, leaving enough chakra for her to be able to fend off any villain attacks if she needed to. The only question was; where to next?  
  
She was, quite literally, at square one. She had no money, she didn't have a home anymore, and she had no associates in-

_...Oh._

Maybe _she _didn't have associates, but her mentor had.

She turned into a quiet alleyway, pulling out her scroll and biting her thumb, slapping it onto the parchment beneath her. A small poof of smoke indicated that she had summoned a miniature version of Katsuyu.

"Do you need something, Sakura-san?" Katsuyu questioned, drinking in the no longer injured-looking pinkette. The child in front of her nodded curtly.

"Tsunade-sama...she has colleagues in Musutafu, right? I remember that she used to go on missions here." Sakura questioned, her dirtied pink hair sticking to her face as she spoke.

"That is correct, yes. She is fairly acquainted with All Might, I believe. I remember that she had summoned me on a few missions with him." Katsuyu replied, bobbing her head in corroboration. Her antennas twitched to the side. "You need me to take you to him, correct? I assume that is why you asked me. And considering your situation right now, I believe that taking you to him would be the most plausible option." Sakura nodded once more.

"Right." She hoarsely choked out in between a cough. She winced at how dry her throat felt. "Are you able to do that?"

Katsuyu made a small noise, her antennas moving about her head in small motions as she thought.

"I do not know where All Might lives, but, perhaps if you visit UA, you should find him, as he is currently a teacher there." Katsuyu was confused at Sakura's deadpan expression. "Is something the matter, Sakura-san?"

"I was just there. And I walked. All the way. Over here."

"...I believe Tsunade-hime's saying was _'suck it_ _up, buttercup_', was it not?"

"The only thing _she'd_ be sucking up as she said that was her sake, that damn alcoholic. But yeah, yeah. Suck it up. I got it." Sakura begrudgingly hissed, swiping at Katsuyu as she dissipated between her fingers. She sighed, running a hand through her matted, bubblegum hair and almost letting out a dry sob when it got stuck on a knot. "Back to UA I go..."

* * *

"Sakura-chan?" A familiar, muffled voice came. The pink-haired girl turned to meet the stare of Nejire as she sucked on a small, red lollipop.

"Hadou." Sakura nodded slightly in reply. Nejire glanced around at the students leaving UA, before looking back towards the younger girl in confusion.

"Uh, classes just ended. What did you need?" Nejire enquired as she pulled the candy out of her mouth, cocking her head to the side. Her blue hair bounced neatly behind her. A bright grin suddenly spread across the older girl's face. "Were you waiting for me!? Aww, that's so sweet! Of course I'll be your frie-"

"I need to speak with All Might." Sakura interrupted, looking slightly unimpressed with Nejire's bubbly, clutzy persona. "But UA won't let me in unless I have a way to get in. So, I needed to wait for you. Now please take me into the UA gates. I need to see All Might. Now."

Nejire's beam faultered at the sight of Sakura's serious expression, and she sighed, slumping forward slightly. She twisted her mouth in uncertainty as she glanced at the pinkette, who was staring at her as she waited for the blue-haired girl to acquiesce.

"You have me feeling all gloomy now." Nejire wined, pouting childishly. She smiled quickly after, as if she had been joking. "But fine! I'll take you in. Stay close to me, otherwise one of the teachers will think you're snooping and they'll steal you away."

They walked inside of the gates, passing students of all different shapes and sizes. Some mutant, some basic. Sakura was surprised to see such diversity. Back in Konoha, there had only been clan members (excluding the village guardians) who were mutants - such as the Hyuuga, who had lavender-coloured eyes that showed off their hereditary X-ray Quirks. Eyes that seemed paler once she'd saw how they looked on their shredded corpses.

The Akamichi were rotund; characteristic of their Butterfly-Englargment Quirks. Sakura couldn't help but think the Akamichi looked far too emaciated when dead; thin cheek bones highlighting the decomposing state of Chouji's dead body.

The Inuzuka had fangs and slit pupils similar to a beast's, which made sense when you took into account their Wolf Quirks. Noses that could smell from miles away, fangs so sharp they could rip into any throat and present blood that somehow yet seemed to pale in comparison to the crimson red of Kiba's when she'd seen him fatally crushed by the foundations of his very own house.

The Yamanaka...lacked pupils, much like the Hyuuga, yet their Quirk was not one of the eyes. They were chracteristically blond, yet the only telling sign of their Quirk was the symbol they formed with their hands, warning their victims of their powerful mind-control Quirk. Wide oceanic orbs had always lit up in wonder when the Yamanaka individually discovered their Quirks - Ino had been ecstatic - and despite Sakura's normal resistance to the Yamanaka's power, Ino's Quirk had succeeded in intruding Sakura's mind even after death, her voice - _nothervoice;itdoesntsoundquitethesame_ \- screaming that Sakura should have been the one to die instead of Ino. "_Why, why was my best friend so? Why? Why had she left me to die, when she had continued living?_" Blue eyes flashed in her mind, stuck in the same haunting image, hollow and **_dead_** in accusation.

Even the Nara with their mutated brains and hereditary Intelligence Quirk, had not had enough time to calculate the sheer force the villain's blast would emit, uprooting their entire village. Even they, with their high IQ, hadn't solved the question, "_How do we survive this?_" Shikamaru, who had always liked to nap, always eventually woke up in the end. This time, he would not. Sakura hoped that he would at least enjoy his long sleep.

And the _Uchiha-_

"Hey, I don't know what you're thinking about, but you should probably stop it. You don't look very happy right now." Nejire's gentle voice advised, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "And you're _kinda_ scaring everyone away with that glare, but that's besides the point..."

Sakura glanced up towards Nejire, who looked down at her with concern. Slightly ruffled, the pinkette reverted her gaze forward and twisted her lips slightly as emotions she didn't quite now how to describe seeped within her.

She still hadn't quite had time to fully comprehend the weight of the circumstances she had been pushed into - she'd cried, but she hadn't properly mourned. She'd cried because the attack had been so unceremonious, but she needed more time to understand that they weren't coming back. _None of them were coming back_.

"Hey, what's this...?" A student passing them questioned, opening up a notification on her phone. She gasped, turning to her friends. "Apparently a villain who destroyed a whole village is on the loose!"

Sakura's hands trembled slightly at her sides, to which she clenched them tightly and breathed through her nose to try and slow her heartrate down. The student's friends fell into panicked whispers and donned scared expressions, but seemed to come to the conclusion that the case would get solved soon enough. After all, _they had All Might, right?_

Sakura barely found the will to withhold a heated glower. How naive could people be? If _Tsunade_ couldn't do it, if _Naruto_ couldn't do it, if _Kakashi-sensei_ couldn't do it - who the hell in their right mind would think that _they_ would be able to?

"Oh- All Might-sensei!" Nejire's sudden exclamation shook Sakura from her depressive musings. "We were just looking for you!"

The pink-haired girl looked up at the chiseled, looming figure of All Might who stared down at her with a blinding grin. He was much larger in person than he would seem on the news.

_7'2",_ she thought idly.

"Ah! Young Hadou!" He replied, nodding politely as his grin stretched wider. "I would love to be able to talk with you, but my presence is required elsewhere! There has been a villain attack, you see, and it has taken quite a while for the news to reach me. On that note, I am leaving!"

Just as All Might bent his legs to prepare to speed off down the halls, Sakura narrowed her eyes and abruptly called out, "Yagi-san."

The man in question turned back to her as he flinched, grin faultering slightly at her use of his name. His eyes immediately snapped to the blue-haired first year, who, _luckily_, had zoomed off to the side to talk to her blond-haired friend whom had been leaving the school.

How did this pink-haired child know his name? Only pros and close friends had that knowledge, or so he'd assumed.

At his confusion, she elaborated, "That is your name, right? Shishou told me about you."

"...Shishou?" He questioned, the hallway of the school isolated as a small breeze blew through an open and tousled Sakura's dirty hair. Nonetheless, he shook his head. "Young Lady, I do not know how your 'Shishou' knows my name, but it is of utmost importance that you refer to me as All Might in public." Sakura gave no indication of having listened to what he said.

"There's no point you going over to that villain attack. The villain is long gone and there's no one left." Sakura stated, blunt. All Might had to do a double take.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean?" He replied, tilting his head slightly. Sakura couldn't blame him for being in such a flummoxed state.

She glanced around the empty corridor. Sure, no one was there, but it wasn't an ideal place someone wanted to be told that their previous mission partner had been killed along with the rest of her village. That, and Sakura needed to sit down herself to deliver the news, lest she crumble under her own sentiments and make a fool of herself in front of none other than the number one hero himself.

"I can't tell you here." She told him, and was met with a strained grin in return. "Can we talk more privately?"

"I'm sorry, Young Lady, but I have already told you that there are heroes expecting me-"

"And I've already told you that there's no point in even going over to those ruins!" Sakura snapped, startling All Might. "Everyone's dead! Now, let's talk before I start getting irritated." Sakura herself didn't know whether her 'irritated' meant _'angry at his antics'_ or _'I'll start crying if you get me wound up'._

All Might had trouble accepting this, and the pinkette saw him shuffle uncomfortably in his place. Nejire had since returned to the two, and watched on with curious eyes, simultaneously staying the quietest Sakura had heard her the whole day. Hadou didn't seem all too bad, but her idle yet constant conversation was rather too overwhelming for the small, traumatised girl.

"I suppose I can speak for a few minutes, if what you are saying is true. But do bare in mind that even if there is no one left to save, it would look bad if I had taken so long to show up to the scene. I still have a public image to uphold to frightened citizens." All Might informed, countenance growing solemn. He glanced around before spotting an empty classroom reading '1-A'. "Let us talk in here, Young Miss...?"

"Sakura." She supplied with a dry smile.

* * *

All Might and Sakura stared at each other tersely for what felt like eternities, until Nejire cleared her throat, making an effort to cut through the tension.

"Are you going to talk to him, then, Sakura-chan?" The bluenette asked, nervously smiling at the pinkette. The younger girl glanced at her, before returning her stony countenance back to the afformentioned man who was looking towards her expectantly.

"I am just questioning whether I should speak with you still present in the room." Sakura answered, wary eyes slipping back to Nejire who wilted slightly under her intense gaze.

"O-oh, I see. I'll understand if you want me to leave..." Nejire trailed off, anxiously glancing towards the door as she smiled politely. Sakura surprised her by shaking her head.

"It's fine. I think you're trustworthy enough." She replied. Her emerald eyes suddenly sharpened into a sudden warning glare. "But you must understand that whatever is discussed in this room is not yours to share at your own liberty. I don't want to find out you've been telling all of your friends about the little pink-haired girl and why she looked so sad this morning."

Nejire nodded vehemently, a childish look of determination firmly planting itself on her features. She couldn't help but hide her excited grin behind her hand. She'd always liked learning about things that were previously deemed a mystery to her.

"Of course, of course!" She chanted, beaming widely. She seemed to freeze up at Sakura's exasperated look towards her loud demeanour, and grinned abashedly. She made a zipping motion across her mouth and emphatically laid her hands on her lap as if she was waiting to listen.

"Now, Young Sakura, what is it you would like to tell me?" All Might quizzed, raising an eyebrow. Sakura held back her trembling as she began to recount her story.

"I know you probably don't know me directly, but my mentor was one of your colleagues..." Sakura began, glancing off to the side in anxiety. "She used to come to Musutafu to do missions alongside her."

"I'm not quite sure who you are referring to..." All Might told her, rubbing his chin as if he were expected to guess the person Sakura was talking about.

"Tsunade Senju was my master." Sakura clarified before he could make a guess, and a look of realisation passed over All Might's shadowed features - he also hadn't seemed to question Sakura's use of tense. Nejire watched on with wide, curious eyes.

"Oh! I see. You must be the 'Sakura' she always talked about, then? I did think your name sounded familiar!" The grin on All Might's face had gone to forced to friendly within moments. "It is great to finally meet you, Young Sakura! I hope Senju-san will come to Musutafu again. She's very helpful on missions, I must admit."

Sakura's features glazed over.

"That won't be possible anymore, All Might." She choked out, her hands shaking in her lap before she clenched the hem of her dirty cheongsam to still the trembling. The events were still fresh in her mind.

"What do you mean?" All Might's voice was quiet, as if he had read the ambience and catered to its needs. He then noted that she had, in fact, heard his request of calling him _'All Might'._

Sakura's eyes glistened freshly as she glanced up to him. She couldn't seem to hold eye contact for long and looked to the side, her throat bobbing slightly as she swallowed.

"That villain attack, the one you were going to show up to...you noticed the location at which it had happened, right?" The child had meant to keep her voice steady, but the question came out as a hoarse whisper as her fingertips trembled.

A pregnant silence lingered in the air between them as All Might mulled over this question. The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees when he'd apparently found the answer, and even his grin had dropped. Nejire stared, shocked, at the scene. She'd never seen All Might without his famous grin.

"Tell me it's not true." He ordered, his voice stern and angry. Sakura shot a wry smile at him as tears welled up in her jade eyes.

"I don't like to lie, All Might."

All Might looked towards the ground, his face twisted in what could only be described by Nejire as utter denial of the situation. She watched as her sensei's muscles tensed as he balled his fists onto his knees. All Might raised his head again, his grin completely wiped off his face as he dealt with the facts.

"Please explain what happened, Young Sakura. All of it."

And so she did. She told him of the horrors she had witnessed, the friends she had watched die, _the villain that had catalysed it_. And most importantly, how much of an instant it had been done in.

All Might had frozen up at least halfway through her recount of things.

"Young Sakura, could you please tell me more about the villain?" An oddly specific question, but Sakura would comply nonetheless.

"Yes. As you already know, Konoha is rather isolated from other cities. We're described as being 'left in the past' because of our old-fashioned village. This is why we probably never let it be known that we were being targeted by this villain." She explained in stammers, fiddling with her quipao. It was so hard not to burst into tears at any second. It was surprising that she was managing to restrain herself, if she were to be honest. Maybe she was still in shock?

"We called him _'Pain'._ That was our sort of codename for him since no one knew what he called himself. Um- I don't really know what he, uh, wanted, but I have reason to believe he was targeting our...Quirks. I-I know how strange it sounds! I-I mean, I don't even think there is a way to take Quirks from people in this day and age, but he was really interested in them whenever he did interact with our village. Not to mention that Konoha breeds- breeded some of the strongest Quirks our world has seen, plus with all the clans and whatnot...b-but yeah. Sorry if that sounds like I've lost my mind." Sakura let out a nervous laugh and failed to notice how stone-faced and pale All Might had grown over the course of her explanation.

"It is alright, Young Sakura. I understand. Please continue." All Might encouraged, nodding stiffly.

"He was specifically interested in one of my teammates...Naruto." It looked like it physically hurt her to say his name after all that had happened. "Naruto, although unbeknownst to him until only a few years ago, was part of a clan and had a very strong Quirk that was passed down throughout his lineage. Everyone had thought him Quirkless until his eyes had started turning red and tails sprouted from him." A wistful smile played at her chapped and bleeding lips, and she looked like she wanted to laugh. "To this day I don't know if it was a mutant Quirk or whatever, but he had the power of a beast. A beast that had been prevalent in our village's history, to be exact. But Pain had showed interest in him and even attempted to capture him once - but luckily Naruto managed to escape, by some miracle."

"Ts-Tsunade-sama was our village leader. She'd often handle threats from villains and bandits - such as ransoms - but she'd occasionally receive a letter from Pain. It'd always be marked as our top priority on reading and publically responding to the letter." Sakura explained, eyes still cast down towards her hands. "He'd always write about how that if we di- if we didn't g-give him a handful of academy students with good quirks, he'd...he'd take them by force. Every time he specifically spoke of students who had caught his eye, Shishou would ship those students off to another country so they would be safe from this villain and he'd have no reason to attack or take Quirks by force. This cycle continued...until Naruto's Quirk had shown up. That bastard- he wanted Naruto delivered to him! He said he knew of his Quirk's power, and that he wouldn't let Shishou get away with shipping him off to another country this time; that if she did, he would attack anyway. He said he _really_ wanted him." Sakura voice broke and tears began to fill her eyes. 

"We- none of us- none of us knew what to _do_. W-We didn't want to give Naruto away - I wouldn't have let them anyway - but we didn't want to get attacked. So...so we waited. We thought...we thought maybe- maybe it would blow over? Th-That he would forget about it, a-and it'd all be fine! But...but he showed up...and I'd never seen him so close before...it's like I could see every detail of his face...and he- he said to us,  
'_**This time, I'm not going to give any of you the chance to escape**_.'  
And- and none of us were _prepared_! It was so sudden and we were caught off guard, but if we'd have just- maybe- maybe- I don't know, evacuated the citizens or something? Maybe we'd have at least _some people alive_!" Sakura screamed, tears flowing freely out of her eyes at this point. She slapped her hands over her eyes, turning her head downwards. "Oh _god...I_ can't believe this is actually real...I can't...I don't want to believe it..."

All Might walked around the table to place a firm hand on her shoulder, his countenance grim. Nejire was rubbing her eyes furiously, having also become  
emotional and Sakura's sentimental account of things.

"Please...I don't- I don't want anyone to touch me. Please don't take it personally." Sakura whispered, brushing All Might's hand off of her stiff shoulder.

"My apologies." Toshinori Yagi replied in understanding. He was not a stranger to such mourning.

"No, no...don't apologise. I'm kind of weird to not want to be consoled after something like this, right?" Sakura cracked a fake smile as faux laughter mixed with a sob bubbled out of her.

"Of course you aren't." _I was the same with Shimura-sensei_, Toshinori wished to say, but his mouth didn't move to form the words. All Might shuffled in his seat. "And please, tell me if my questions become too much for you. I would like to ask - why is it that you survived?"

A longing smile fixed it's way on Sakura's dirtied, tear-stricken face, and she laughed a feathery laugh. This time, it didn't seem fake.

"I guess Tsunade-sama was always selfless to the end, wasn't she?" She rhetorically questioned, shaking her head. "Shishou...just a moment before the blast...she summoned Katsuyu, one of our village's mutant protectors. Katsuyu shielded me from the blast...but only me. I kind of feel like I don't deserve to be here, you know? Ah, wait, don't respond. I don't want you to pity me." Sakura's hands unconsciously drifted down to the scroll Tsunade had gifted her moments before the catclysm commenced.

All Might nodded, a final question sitting on his mind.

"One last thing, Young Sakura," he announced in a serious tone, as if the answer Sakura would give would be very important to him, "what did the villain look like?"

"He...had a really messed-up face, and some kind of, uh, machine on it?"

All Might inhaled a sharp breath of air.

"_Bastard_." He hissed in a rare show of anger.

* * *

"Excuse me, Yagi-san, but where are we going?" Sakura questioned, flying through the air as she hugged onto All Might's form. All Might had sent Nejire home for the day, deeming this situation far too serious for the 1-A student.

The blue-haired student had looked much more somber than he was used to, and acquiesed with a small, curt nod. Her lip had trembled when she'd glanced over at Sakura, and a strange emotion swam in her eyes when she looked at the pinkette. Sakura had dismissed it as pity, but Nejire knew she felt no pity for the girl. Not pity...something else? Maternal, almost, as she gazed at the girl.

Nonetheless, Nejire mustered a bright smile and a farewell that didn't seem to fit her face at that moment, and left with the promise that it wouldn't be the last time her and Sakura saw each other.

"I need to attend to the crime scene, Young Sakura. I am going to leave you with an old friend of mine for the time being." Toshinori continued in reply, surveying the area beneath him as they jumped over rooftops. He opened his mouth for a split second before shutting it in hesitation, as if he'd desired to say something to her but thought against it at the last minute.

"...Okay." Sakura mumbled, exhaustion slowly creeping up her back. After all the shit that had happened today, she was tired. Luckily, it had only just caught up to her now.

"You can get cleaned up and...think things over before I return. Then, we can discuss further on this topic, as I'm sure you still have questions as well as requests." Toshinori kindly suggests, and the pinkette could only muster a tacturn nod in response.

* * *

"Toshinori." The short, elderly man drawled as he stared at Sakura, an eyebrow raised. "Who is the child?"

"Saku-"

"She's a victim that has recently lost her home." Toshinori clarified, cutting off Sakura's emotionless mutter of a response. Sakura glanced sharply up at him, but he sent her a reassuring smile. "It's okay. Sensei won't go spilling any of your secrets."

This only confused his sensei further, it seemed. The elderly man shifted himself slightly on his walking stick, glaring up at the looming figure of All Might with an unnatural intimidation that didn't befit such a small man.

"And why have you brought her here?" He asked, clearly agitated by the presence of either Toshinori or Sakura. Maybe both.

"I need to give her someplace to stay whilst I tend to a crime scene. Can you shelter her for a while until I return?" Toshinori asked, receiving a hard stare from the elderly man, before he caved and heaved a sigh.

"I suppose I can do that. Only because it's you, Toshinori." The man muttered, almost affectionately. The gray-haired midget turned to face Sakura, tilting his head. "What's your name, dearie?"

"Sakura, sir. Thank you for giving me somewhere to stay." She responded solemnly with a polite nod. The man grinned.

"Respectful, this one. Much better than you were as a kid." The elderly man teased, poking Toshinori in the abdomen with his walking cane. If Sakura didn't know any better, she would've sworn she saw All Might pout at the jab.

"Very funny..." All Might mumbled begrudgingly with a wry grin, before ushering Sakura inside and past the elderly man. Toshinori bent down to mutter into his sensei's ear, "Be careful with her. She had a villain attack today."

The elderly man glanced up at him with an understanding look and nodded.

Sakura pretended as if she hadn't heard All Might, instead looking around the surprisingly cosy home with curious eyes. Her gaze landed upon a costume that looked awfully familiar, before it clicked in her head. She turned around to face the man, an epiphany washing over her features.

"Oh. You're...Gran Torino, right?" Sakura asked hesitantly, blinking widely at him. Gran Torino nodded, before grinning and shaking his cane at her.

"No need to spit that mouthful of a hero name everytime you talk to me, though. Just call me Sorahiko, dear." Sorahiko suggested, and Sakura nodded briefly at him before returning her eyes to scan the house. The elderly man turned back to All Might, reaching up and smacking the man with his cane (having aimed for his head but only being able to catch his shoulder due to his tall stature). "Get going, then. My frail old legs won't keep me standing long enough if you just sit there."

"Of course, sensei." All Might grumbled like a child - which Sakura found particularly amusing - as if he didn't believe his sensei's claims, before turning tail and bending his legs. He shot a two-fingered wave and a wide grin at Sakura. "I will return shortly, Young One! Please make yourself at home!" He sprung off like a flea.

"That boy...always making me push myself despite my ripe old age." Sorahiko muttered bitterly, waddling over to the door and slamming it shut with a loud bang that startled Sakura into covering her ears and squeezing her eyes tightly closed. When Sorahiko caught her reaction, his face seemed to morph into guilt before he settled on an apologetic smile. "Sorry, dear. I didn't mean to slam it that loud. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I'd be happy to provide for a sweet girl like yourself."

Sakura glanced down at the grime gilting every inch of her skin, and she cleared her throat awkwardly, catching herself in a grimace when she found out how dry her throat felt. She itched slightly at her dirty skin, a scowl pulling her features into a shadow that wasn't becoming of her unorthodox yet pure and bright colourings (Sorahiko had never seen such pink hair in his life, and the brightest of shades that her emerald eyes were was undeniably intriguing to him).

"Actually, sir..." she started, voice raspy as she coughed once more into her hand, "I would like to clean myself. If possible. I feel uncomfortable in this state."

"Of course, child. Up the stairs, down the hall and to the right. Everything's in there. I trust that you'll be able to take care of yourself." Sakura nodded in response, her mouth twisted in a mixture of nerves and uncertainty.

"And a glass of water. Please." She added, gaze dropping to the floor as her hands fiddled idly with the hem of her torn dress, which Sorahiko glared at with a critical eye.

"You and I are about the same size. Would you like me to leave some clothes outside of the bathroom for you?" Sorahiko questioned, eyes slipping up to gauge her reaction.

"Y-yes. Please. If you could." She stammered, and Sorahiko felt his heart swell up a little at the sight of such a flustered brat.

_Poor kid's probably not used to asking for stuff,_ Sorahiko thought, _that, or she's the politest little thing to her elders._

Sorahiko shuffled himself over to the sink and filled up a cup of water, handing it to the girl who gulped it down desperately, handing it back shyly. Sorahiko grinned and refilled the cup for her, to which she seemed to appreciate again, and once more swallowed the entire thing in huge gulps.

"I'll go and sort out clothes now. You can go and get started with the shower or bath or whatever you're doing." Sorahiko announced as he tossed the cup into the sink, waving a dismissive hand at her.

"Thank you, sir." Sakura thanked with a smile, bowing.

* * *

The girl stepped into the shower, toes flinching as they touched the cold, ceramic floor of the bathtub. Her mind felt like it was tearing itself apart - a malady she could only slightly alleviate by inhaling deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself.

She reached out to turn the metal dial, grimacing when cold water hit her skin. Soon enough, the water warmed, and Sakura stood there in silence as she stared at the floor, water drops running down her body and soaking her hair. She watched as the drops fell off her skin, brown and crimson, as the dirty water swirled down the drain.

Slowly, she began to close her eyes. That peace lasted only moments before a single image of her ruined village flashed in her mind, like a photograph. She flinched, eyes still closed, and tried to calm herself once more.

The blankness stilled the girl, as if nothing was happening around her; her mind filtering out the noise of the shower, as she floated, inside of her own mind.

Her tranquility was once again shattered when an onslaught of pictures flashed violently in her mind, each and every one of her friend's corpses coming to her vision. She could hear Inner quietly sobbing inside of her head, and Sakura wonders if she had been the one to throw the pictures at her as a reminder of the events.

She snapped her eyes open with a sharp inhale, and the rapid slideshow of images ceased. She panted slighty, lifting a shaky, calloused hand to rest on the tiles of the bathroom wall as she leaned into the shower head.

_Inner_, Sakura whimpered internally, resting her forehead against the cold shower wall, _Inner, please. Stop. I don't want to see it._

_**You have to! You**_** _ha_**_**ve**** to! ****It's our fault,**_Inner sobbed, mind-shattering grief tearing her head apart in the physical form of a devastating migraine, _**our fault...Outer, our fault!**_

_Stop. Stop_, Sakura cried, scrunching her face up as tears began to leak, her shoulders shaking, _I don't want to see it, I don't want to see it..._

_**You have to! You have to!** _Inner screaming, repeating it like a mantra. _**You**_ **hav****e**_** to! I can't look at these on my own!**_

_Please don't..._

Sakura's desperate plea fell on deaf ears as more images flooded her mind. Instead of fighting anymore, Sakura found that the energy had all left her. She let her shoulders shake as she mourned.

_**Do you miss Ino? What do you think she'd say if she was here?**_ Inner questioned quietly, craving conversation inside of the endless void in which she floated; alone.

_I think she'd tell me to stop being such a stupid Forehead and quit my crying,_ Sakura replied, sobs still hitching at her throat. _She always hated it when I was a crybaby._

_ **Then why are you crying?** _

_Because it's all I know how to do,_ Sakura whispered in reply.

That was the end of their morbid conversation as Sakura twisted the metal knob, feeling slightly too warm than she was comfortable with. Cold water overwhelmed her senses, and she bit her chapped lips in an effort to suppress the silent shiver that streaked through her stature.

Inner was quiet again, as though she had exhausted herself into sleep. That is why Sakura felt it safe to close her eyes again.

The water pours down - it drips by her side, as her mind fades into dullness and everything is a foggy illusion. The sensation of the cold water calms her; as if a refreshing breath of air had seeped into her lungs.

It's the water. Her mind swirls, and it's like she's standing under an everlasting waterfall. Ever so beautiful, she thinks; but like all things, it can never last. She knows that now.

Sakura sighed as she opened her eyes once more, harsh reality slapping her in the face much like the water droplets pelting her skin, only with much more force. She reached towards the body soap and lathered some onto her, careful not to touch any the cuts or nasty bruises that still littered her lithe form.

She hissed when some soap began to seep into one laceration, and with no second thought she channeled chakra to close up the wound. Only after did she heal her injury did she feel just how low her reserves were (not counting the chakra she was currently storing in her seal) and she cursed, balling up her fist and weakly banging onto the tiles next to her.

Once she'd managed to return her body to its usual clean state - her hair was finally _soft_ again - she turned the dial off and stepped out of the shower, eyelids heavy as she grabbed the towel and tied it securely around her. Moving forward to crack the door open, she noticed the clothes in front of the door and snatched them inside of the bathroom before shutting the door again.

Holding the robes out in front of her, she noted that it was a simple t-shirt and jogging bottoms that seemed to be her size, if only a slight bit larger. Drying herself off, she slipped the clothes on and stepped out of the bathroom, the cold air contrasting the earlier humid of the bathroom's.

She walked herself down the stairs, standing awkwardly at the bottom and waiting for her host to notice her as he grumbled under his breath about the television not working. After repeatedly slapping the underside of the remote and coming out with naught results, his eyes finally slid onto Sakura and he smiled.

"Sorry, dear. I've got a guest bedroom just opposite the bathroom if you want somewhere to relax whilst you wait for Toshinori. I'm sure you'd appreciate the alone time." He offered gently. Sakura's eyelashes flickered against her skin as her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Thank you." She thanked simply with a morose nod, making her way back up and towards the guest bedroom.

She slowly pushed the door open to the room, and was met with a plain-looking sight; white walls, a single bed, a dresser, grey carpet and a single poster slapped on the wall, that illustrated an unfamiliar raven-haired woman grinning, with the words _'Symbol of Peace'_ floating above her head.

Sakura stepped quietly into the room, silently shutting the door behind her as her gaze slid to a cute scrawling of words underneath the smiling woman.

'_You're next, hero_!' It wrote, with a small heart following the message.

Sakura's brows furrowed in confusion, and her eyes snapped back up to the woman, analysing her thoroughly as she stepped closer to the poster. Yellow gloves...raven hair...a mole?

...No, she didn't recognise this person. Maybe a fan of All Might's, she supposed?

Nonetheless, Sakura heaved a tired sigh as she tore her eyes away from the poster. She fell, face first, onto the bed, grimacing when a spring uncomfortably pushed into her hip. She faced the ceiling, her countenance apprehensive as her mouth twisted in thought.

_Hey, Inner? Do you want to talk?_ She proposed, and a small hum of energy rebounded through her head as Inner awoke.

**_About what?_** Inner grumbled, voice hoarse. Sakura's eyes slid towards the poster, idly.

_Do you...Do you think it was our fault?_ Sakura questioned, fingers gripping into the bedsheets. The woman stared back at her, beaming. _Our fault that they...died?_

_**Maybe,**_ Inner replied in a whisper, like she was genuinely unsure of the answer. **_We_ _could have done something. If we tried. I think._**

_Like what?_

_**I**-_ Inner paused, and her voice quietened,_ **I don't...know.**_

Sakura was silent as thoughts flew through her mind. She forced herself to close her eyes, and tried to stay calm even as the events replayed themselves endlessly inside of her head.

_What do we do now?_ The pinkette asked, and it was Inner's turn to sigh.

_**I'm not sure, Outer,**_ Inner replied in a mumble, _**I think our future career left us alongside the village. We don't really have anything to aim towards now. Other than being a hero. But after seeing that...I don't feel all that up to it.**_

_Actually...we might_, Sakura insisted, voice dark. Inner waited for her to continue, and Sakura took a few moments before clarifying, _I want to see Pain be defeated. Whether it's by us or someone else, I don't care. We can survive up until then. Until he's incarcerated, or better yet: _dead_._

_**You think that'll happen? Outer, you saw what he did to Konoha**,_ Inner hissed, outraged, _**who says he'll be defeated? We don't even know if that was his full power. We don't even know his**_ **Quirk.**

_Then we survive. We will survive until we learn these things_, Sakura spoke calmly, yet her voice laced with lethal contempt, _and then - he dies._

_**Well...it would be a lie to say I wouldn't enjoy seeing that,**_ Inner muttered in response.

After a few moments of silence, Sakura spoke again.

_Inner?_ She asked.

_**What?**_ The entity replied, still bitter as she was forced to watch the event on loop with Sakura closing her eyes and watching alongside her.

_Do you think we'll ever get used to this? This...feeling?_

_**One where it feels like we're in an all-too-realistic nightmare?**_ Sakura hummed in affirmation, and Inner scoffed. _**I think it would be wishful thinking to believe that we will. I don't think we**_ **ev****er**_** will, in truth, Outer. The best thing we can do is to just live our lives, I guess. But it will never feel the same, I don't think.**_

_Okay,_ Sakura responded simply, and leaned back against the bed, eyelids fluttering shut.

* * *

"I AM-" All Might slammed through the door, freezing when Sakura flinched violently and whimpered, slapping her hands to her ears as she began to pant. His eyes widened. "...here. I am very sorry, Young Sakura. That was extremely stupid of me."

"Idiot boy." Sakura heard Gran Torino scoff from somewhere behind All Might.

Sakura tried to calm her breathing down at the scare, but felt that she couldn't. It was like a weight was pressing against her chest, restricting her breathing.

The blood pounded in her ears. Her heart thudded in her chest. Her hands shook. Her feet tingled. Her vision disfigured, as if she were looking through a fish-eye lens. She had to get away.

She tried to move - but she _couldn't_. She couldn't _breathe_, she couldn't _move_, and all of a sudden, Pain stood, tall, in the large doorway.

His voice boomed.

"_**This time, I'm not going to give any of you the chance to escape."**_

Sakura screamed. She screamed, and her own voice sounded foreign to her, almost drowned out by the pounding in her head and the sounds of her friends' screams around her. The sound of crashing, silent horror and large explosions as buildings crumbled.

Sakura sobbed, she sobbed until her vision cleared, and All Might replaced the villain, staring down at her with a very concerned expression. Gran Torino peered passed All Might, and his features twisted in rage before he kicked the man in front of him, travelling faster than the eye could see as he struck All Might in the stomach.

"Toshinori, you fool! Do you not think before you act!?" Sorahiko snapped, Toshinori's face already morphing into remorse at the sight. The elderly man ran a palm down his face, before shaking his head. "Go and find some chocolate, or something, and bring it up here. Make yourself useful."

All Might disappeared silently.

Sorahiko stood awkwardly at the edge of the bed as the pinkette trembled, her eyes blown wide as she clutched her heart, panting. Her eyes traveled up to Sorahiko, filled to the brim with tears.

"What was that? Why did I see him?" She desperately questioned, her orbs searching Sorahiko's face for any signs of deceit. "Why was he _here_!?"

"Calm yourself, child. Panic attacks are common. They are frightening, I know, but please try to assuage your breathing." Sorahiko suggested, eyes narrowing as the girl gritted her teeth and slid angry, confused eyes towards the floor. "You're in Sorahiko's house. I'm All Might's old sensei, and Toshinori is currently downstairs fetching some sugar for you. You're safe."

"...Safe." Sakura repeated as she clenched her eyes shut and grimaced, as though she were convincing herself. Her hands came up to her temples. "R...Right. Right. Yeah."

All Might appeared in the doorway, holding up a packet of small, smiling fish and a disappointed expression.

"Why do you only have taiyaki, sensei?"

"Why do _you_ always ask moronic questions?" Sorahiko bit, before holding his hand out. "Give it here, Toshinori."

All Might did as he was told, and Sorahiko snatched it from his hands. He held it in front of Sakura, who was still deep in her thought as her brows furrowed. Sensing a stare on her form, Sakura glanced up at Sorahiko.

"Eat this." The elderly man ordered. All might slapped a hand to his forehead. "It'll help you get your blood su-"

"I know." Sakura interrupted softly, taking the offered taiyaki from Sorahiko's hands. At Sorahiko's cocked eyebrow, she quickly elaborated, "I...used to do medical training, too. With Shishou. I think I know what's- what's going on with me, now that I've thought about it a little. I'm not too used in diagnosing stuff within _myself_, but I'm capable of it if it is needed."

Sakura's grip tightened on the taiyaki and her stare cut into the floorboard. "It's quite obvious that I need to do something about these issues. I can't fight like this."

"What? Who are you fighting, kid?" Sorahiko tutted disapprovingly, leaning back on his cane to stare down his nose at her. "You planning on becoming a hero or something?"

Sakura lifted her gaze to stare blankly at the man.

_All the heroes are **gone,** now_, she hissed inside of her head, mind clutching tightly onto memories of Tsunade's benign smile, Kakashi's nonchalance and fierceness to protect those he loved, Naruto's silly yet endearing antics.

Sakura shot him a faux smile.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think it's fairly obvious that Sakura has some trauma after the events. She's quite clearly living with Survivor's Guilt and PTSD that was demonstrated in how she flinched when Sorahiko slammed the door - PTSD will become more prevalent as we go along, and more panic attacks WILL happen. Remember that mental illness is a very serious focal point I want to try and detail as best as I can in this story and it will be expanded on a lot. I feel as if mental illness is brushed off a lot of the times in stories where horrific events happen. Sure, they show the character mourning, but I want to try and put it into depth HOW it feels from accounts that I've read from people actually with these mental illnesses. It won't be exact and Sakura will get better as the story progresses, but also bare in mind that if she comes off cold and callous and 'OOC', that this will be a result. 
> 
> I don't think I'm going to press on suicide, but I will tread near that, so for whoever doesn't like that kind of thing, I suggest you read at your own discretion. As always, let me know how you felt about this chapter by leaving a comment. Thank you again for reading!  
~{• < •~}
> 
> P.s, I have a habit of revealing too much stuff when I get excited, so try not to leave questions that will spoil the story >~<


	3. Alleviation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was forced to rewrite this when I accidentally deleted it omfg T_T  
Please check my end notes~

  
Moonlight poured into the room, spilling out onto the floor like an uncontrolled leakage. The silvery mist of the moon's luminescence stretched out into every corner of the room, not leaving a single particle untouched by its purifying light. 

The two figures perched in the middle of the room made a confusing contrast to the enigmatic setting. Emerald eyes glistened with jaded, indistinguishable emotions; darkened infinitesimally by the inky blackness of the midnight. The cotton-candy colouring of her locks had long since washed out under the illumination of the effulgent rock hanging purposefully out on the sky's void, obsidian canvas.

A sudden snarl cut through their stupor; a vitriolic baring of teeth as chapped lips twitched upwards in covert hostility.

"What do you mean you _know_ him?"

All Might leaned back in his chair, surveying the flummoxed girl in front of him with heavy solemnity. The sleek mahogany of his seat creaked imperceptebly underneath his collosal form; providing a distraction to the suffocating silence. Sorahiko leaned against the doorway nearby, sharp eyes sliding in between the two who refused to fully regard his presence, too caught up in holding the others' heavy stare.

"I mean exactly what I say, Young Sakura." He replied, mouth still missing its orthodox grin. Sakura's brows knitted further, an enunciation to the utter beffudlement that irritatingly prodded at her. "That man that caused such calamity to your village; he is a villain I have had trouble with in the past, and...I think it's best that you don't go out looking for him. It would be extremely dangerous."

Sakura blinked slowly, countenance blank as she processed All Might's request. She slowly raised her eyebrow, looking at him coolly.

"How would you know if I was planning to do that?" Sakura questioned, trembling hands secretly fisted, tightly, onto the bed, hidden behind her back. She swallowed dryly, and she could feel Inner's contempt leaking from inside of her head.

All Might regarded her with a knowing expression. The man glanced towards his sensei, who simply shook his head and walked off. With only those two left in the room, All Might returned his gaze to the pinkette with a small sigh.

"I know that it is probably what you're thinking of, right? Enacting your revenge on the man who murdered your loved ones?" His surprisingly gentle voice enquired, and judging by the way Sakura flinched, Toshinori knew that he was right on the mark. "I tried to kill him once, and end his tyranny. The result...was less than preferable."

All Might's calloused fingers twitched towards the hem of his shirt before he abruptly halted, slowly laying his hand back into his lap. Sakura's eyes slid back up to him after she noticed this small movement, but safely decided not to comment on it. 

"And what was the result?" She asked, the pounding in her head serving as a constant reminder that she was not the only entity forced to live with such inner turmoil.

"He managed to harm me. I only managed to disfigure him, and he was not incarcerated. Such means that he is currently a free man." All Might swallowed, a grim look shadowing his features as he looked down; remorseful. "Perhaps if I'd succeeded in my endeavour the first time...your village wouldn't have suffered the consequences of my lackadaisical actions."

Sakura's brows furrowed at his declaration.

"That's not--"

"If you still want someone to focus your hate on, do it to me. Pin the blame on me - I am responsible for not having locked him up the first time." Toshinori's sudden order made Sakura's eyes widen. 

When Sakura opened her mouth to protest, he quickly cut her off, "You don't have to if you don't need to, but if you find yourself craving someone to hate for this, hate _me_. You will drive yourself crazy hating All- _that man_," All Might hissed and clenched his fist, "It will be an endless spiral of desperation that you find yourself twirling through. You will want to kill him in the worst way imaginable, to string him up for his crimes, but it will not be possible. That man can only be defeated by destiny itself."

"I don't know what you mean, Yagi-san." Sakura chimed in firmly, voice shaking slightly as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Destiny? What are you talking about? I- I don't even know who that villain is. I just want to see him _gone_."

"And that is the problem." Toshinori cut in, meticulously avoiding her question of _'destiny'._ "That will become your primary objective in life: to see him killed. That will _control_ you, and it will lead you down a very dark path. I do not want that for Senju-san's favourite student."

_**We're her**_** on****ly**_** student,**_ Inner muttered.

"You will find yourself waiting and waiting for every opportunity. Every sighting; you will flee to his last known location. Every bit of witness you can collect will immerse you in the endeavour of finding him and seeing him defeated." Toshinori spoke with an aura of wisdom, and Sakura wondered if he was familiar with these feelings. "But it will take a very long time. Destiny is patient. Humans are not. It will make you insane waiting for that moment."

"I am willing to wait." Sakura objected, and she felt Toshinori's disapproval radiating from his muscular form. She raised her sharp gaze to meet his, trying to convey how very incorrigible she felt about this. "I would rather not hate someone who had nothing to do with the atrocities that bastard committed. Why should I hate you for attempting to bring him to his end?"

Sakura leaned forward, and neatly laid her hands in her lap.

"Yagi-san." She started. All Might watched her carefully. "I think you have me wrong. As much as I would like to be the one to kill Pain, I do not feel as if it is a necessity. As long as he pays for the murders he has committed, then I will be satisfied. Whether that takes ten years, or fifty; it will be worth it to wait."

"Young Sakura..." Toshinori muttered, but Sakura shook her head.

"Although I am young and most probably naive, I am not a fool. I know it would be asinine to focus solely on that goal of seeing him crushed, and if I were to let it control my actions." Sakura glanced off to the side as a certain Uchiha floated around in the back of her mind. "I had a teammate that did that, once. His name was-...Sasuke. He was so obsessed with becoming the number one hero and being stronger than his older brother that he was willing to betray his own village to reach that goal. I am not like him. I saw how it tore him down, and, if I'm being honest, I do not want to live through that as well. If possible, I want to avoid that exact outcome."

All Might leaned backwards in his chair, taking in a deep breath as he fixed his gaze to his feet. What she was saying...wasn't stupid. It was the opposite. But should he let her accept such a strong emotion? Hate festers. He, of all people, knew that. It festered and it ate off of your mental state, thriving inside of you and spreading if you allowed it to inhabit you so easily. With a child so young...even though they have good intentions, it could go wrong, very quickly.

"I appreciate your mindset, Young Sakura. But it doesn't work like that. If hate was controllable, half of the crimes that people commit wouldn't have been committed in the first place." All Might retorted. Sakura's brows furrowed and she averted her gaze to the floor, pensive. "Allowing hate to harbour a place inside of you is one of the worst things you can do. Hate evolves. It doesn't stay dormant. Whether you choose to act on that hate depends on how overwhelming your hate is, but when you give hate a place inside of you, it gets stronger. You start to accept it. Do you truly think you can control your contempt?"

"...You say '_if hate was controllable_'." Sakura pronounced after a few moments of silence, her features twisted grimly as she thought over her options. Her dulled, green eyes slid up to All Might. "That means that you should know that I could never direct it towards you. I will always hate Pain. That is a fact, and I cannot change that. You're right to assume that hate will get stronger if I let it. But, truly...what is wrong with that?"

Toshinori narrowed his eyes in confusion and concern, as Sakura shook her head with a bitter smile on her face. She seemed to look up at him the second time with a slight derisive tint in her eyes.

"I'm guessing you're the type to claim _'love your enemies',_ right?" Judging by All Might's benign, remorseful expression, she assumed she was correct. "Like you said; it doesn't work like that. Just like you can't help but save people - to _love_ humanity - I can't just suddenly stop hating Pain. All of this...it may make me stronger as an outcome."

"Hate does _not_ make anyone stronger, Young Sakura. Please get such a thought out of your head. Just like what happened to your teammate, letting hate fester only provides your own downfall--"

Sakura's eyes were sharp as she tilted her head. 

"Who said I was talking about hate?"

At Yagi's flummoxed countenance, the pinkette huffed a small laugh and shuffled slightly on the bed. Her wistful, watery orbs slid elsewhere.

"You forget...that my hate is built from love." Sakura's lips trembled. "Love for my village. My friends - my _family_. If I did not love these people; where would my hate come from? Would I have any reason to hate that man? It is not the hate that will make me stronger. It's the love. I'm not going to forge my own path out of blood and selfishness and claim that I will kill him myself. Because, in reality, that probably won't happen. But, I'll become a hero. I'll help others, and assist in the search of Pain, so that he can be correctly dealt with. I don't know how that will happen, for now...but, it's a start."

Her eyes, glistening with unshed tears, swam back up to All Might. She shot him a smile.

"Do you think that is acceptable?"

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. After a moment, a sigh weaseled past his lips.

"I feel like no matter my response, you will still do the same thing."

Her wry smile was answer enough.

* * *

Toshinori paced around the kitchen, feeling his master's concerned stare pressing into his omnipresent form. His brow was wrinkled and face not donning a smile as he delved into thought.

After all that time, All For One had been amassing Quirks from Konoha. It felt like a joke. Toshinori had been searching and searching all of those years, and he had been so close? Not in another country, half way across the planet in an attempt to flee, like Toshinori had expected him to have done? Not **_dead_**, rotting in the ditch of a crater Toshinori had left his mangled body in?

"Can you sit down, Toshinori? You're making my eyes go funny with all that pacing." Sorahiko tutted, shuffling out of the way to make space for him on the couch. 

Toshinori sat himself down, face heavy as he leaned his mouth into his clasped hands. Sorahiko narrowed his eyes when his former student remained utterly silent.

"Do you plan to tell her about One For All?" Toshinori spluttered at the sudden question.

"It is _far_ too early to even _consider_\--"

"You didn't seem to mind when you explained that you knew All For One." Sorahiko interjected drolly, cocking an eyebrow. 

"I gave her extremely limited information. All she knows is that we fought in the past and he harmed me." Toshinori replied, turning to stare at his lacksadaisical former mentor.

"Oh yes, even better. Very ambiguous, Toshinori. You let the child know that the symbol of peace has a possibly extremely-debilitating injury." Sorahiko hummed in dry amusement as Toshinori blanched and lowered his head in humiliation. "I'm simply surprised you don't trust her all that well. She was Tsunade-san's apprentice, was she not?"

"It's not that I don't trust her, Sensei. I have no doubt that Senju-san has trained Young Sakura to take on her own personality traits, including her good judgement and analysis of what secrets can and cannot be shared. However, that doesn't mean I can trust her with such a secret. She is still a child; a mourning one, at that. I haven't even yet found who I want to inherit One For All." Toshinori sighed, running a hand down his face. His expression twisted in pensivity. "Besides, I have no reason to tell her other than satisfying her curiosity. I haven't even told Dave about One For All, because I fear they will be dragged into matters that aren't their own and get hurt because of it, and you know that me not trusting him is not the case at all."

A beat of silence passed, and his sensei hummed in thought.

"She will ask how you know him eventually, Toshinori." Sorahiko informed seriously, to which the blond kept his gaze on the floor. 

"...Maybe when she is older, more understanding of the situation, and when it's all blown over, I will tell her. If she asks. But right now, that's not an option." Toshinori responded grimly, tapping his foot on the floor in a show of subtle anxiety. "I am simply worried that she will get herself involved where she is not supposed to."

"She went on that whole spiel about how you can rely on her to _not_ do that, yet you still doubt her?" Sorahiko questioned in pure curiosity. Toshinori blinked at the elderly man.

"You heard that?" The blond inquired, to which Sorahiko muttered that he had been just outside the door at the time. Toshinori shook his head. "Anyway, you remember how I had been during the year after my fight against All For One. I know she says that she won't fall into such behaviour...but I'd rather be safe than sorry. And supplying her with more information on what she can do to find All For One is a silly idea."

Sorahiko sighed, and averted his gaze to the television.

"Whatever you say, brat." Sorahiko sniffed. "I trust your judgement. Somewhat."

"...Thank you for your kind words, Sensei." Toshinori replied begrudgingly at his sensei's backhanded compliment.

"But I'm just wondering...what will you do with her now? I am traveling to Tokyo this weekend, and whilst I'd be happy to lend this apartment for the month, is it truly a good idea to leave her unsupervised whilst you go to work?" At Toshinori's blank expression, Sorahiko grumbled. "Don't tell me you didn't think about that, you stupid boy."

"Of course I did." Toshinori artfully (bashfully) replied, swallowing down the humiliated red tint his cheeks threatened to flush into. "She will...accompany me to UA."

It was Sorahiko's turn to stare blankly at Toshinori.

"Bring her...into UA during teaching hours?" Sorahiko pronounced carefully, blinking. "Is that permitted?"

"I am sure Principal Nezu will allow it." Toshinori stared out of the window to be met with a moon and dark spilling into the room, and stood himself up. "Well, I should probably go and perform some rounds. Young Sakura is asleep, yes?"

"Checked on her a few minutes ago. Sleeping like a baby deprived." Sorahiko replied, yawning and stretching over the couch as he continued to watch the news. Nothing interesting, he'd decided. He shoved his hand out and shooed Toshinori dismissively. "Now go and do your shift. You will be in charge of waking her up in the morning to arrive at UA with you. I don't want to experience the wrath of a female losing her beauty sleep."

Toshinori's smile was strained, his eyebrow twitching infinitesimally.

"Yes, Sensei."

* * *

Abruptly woken by the feeling of someone gently shaking her, Sakura sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes which hung, half-lidded, in her fatigue. When the blurriness of sleep cleared from her vision, she blinked up at the large man looming over her.

"Young Sakura! It is time to arise!" The man boomed with a proud chortle.

"Yagi-san?" She murmured, placing a hand to her mouth as she yawned. "What's...going on?"

"As you now know, you have no other choice but to stay with me due to your circumstances."

The pinkette's eyes lingered on All Might's blinding grin, before her emerald depths slid away bitterly.

"...I could just go to a local shelter, if it's such an issue--"

"Absolutely not! My pride would not allow it. You came to me for aid, and so I will deliver per my admiration for your mentor! I owe her such, anyway." All Might cut off her meek objection. "Back to the topic at hand - Gran Torino is leaving for Tokyo for a month. And, since I cannot legally leave you here on your own, I will be taking you with me to UA."

Sakura suddenly felt wide awake. She blinked in incredulity at him.

"But- surely it's not okay for _me_, a _stranger_, to--"

"Nonsense! You are not a stranger to me, my girl. With all the talk Senju-san had given you during our partnership, I feel as though I know you as well as my own already!" All Might boomed, a loud laugh spilling from his gut. He suddenly leaned down, a little abashedly, and whispered almost conspiritorially behind his hand as a bead of sweat formed on the side of his forehead, "And, uh, truthfully, whether it's okay or not is what we are going to find out today. I won't really know what do with you if Principal Nezu refuses my request- _ah,_ that sounded rude of me. I apologise--"

"I'd rather get it handed to me straight than you sugarcoat it, Yagi-san..." Sakura mumbled begrudgingly, before hopping out of bed and brushing her slightly-oversized clothes off. "But I don't have an issue with it...Are you suggesting we go right now?"

"That would be the intention, yes." He corroborated with a grin. He threw her a small thumbs up as he left the room. "Come downstairs when you are ready, Young Sakura. And please try not to take too long...I-I am not saying that because you are a female. Definitely not. It's just--"

"I _get_ it, Yagi-san." Sakura bit out in slight amusement as the - surprisingly humourous, slightly jittery yet placating - man shot the pinkette a small, nervous, concilliating smile before leaving the room.

_He's a bit more of a character than I'd initially thought_, Sakura internally murmured to herself as she made her way to the washroom. She huffed a little in mirth, _goofy in a way that the media wouldn't even dream of detailing to the idolising public._

A plastic comb sat on the sink, but judging by its unused, flimsy state, it wasn't going to help Sakura all that much. 

She wet her face with her hands and some water to wake herself up completely, running a few fingers through her slightly-tangled hair. An old man's comb wasn't going to be of any use to her uncooperative mess of hair, that's for sure...

_Guess I've got no choice,_ Sakura thought with a sigh. _It doesn't look_ so_ bad, anyway..._

Sakura hummed as she self-consciously patted her pink hair down with her hand, frowning at the mirror. It was soft and smelled nice, thanks to her recent shower, but she really hated not brushing her hair. It was okay if it had became frizzy during a battle, but actively not brushing through it in the morning just...didn't sit right with her.

And, suddenly...none of this sat right with her. At all.

_Ha...she_ thought, her conflicted expression coalescing into bitterness as she stared back at her reflection. Her raised hand slowly fell down to clasp at the sink in front of her. She snarled, hands twitching as she scowled at her own reflection; glare heated and almost as if it were reinforced by daggers. _Ha...what is wrong with me...my biggest concern is my hair? I feel so...strange._

_**I thought we got over the trivial matter of appearances**_, Inner added quietly.

Sakura's gaze lowered to the floor, unable to focus as blurry, ceramic tiles met her eyesight. Surreal...so surreal.

_So did I._

Her jade eyes unceremoniously flitted upwards, back towards the mirror, when an abrupt silvery glint caught her eye. Bringing her hand back atop her head, her calloused digits brushed over the cool metal of her beloved forehead protector. Her fingers trembled dangerously as she unlaced the forehead protector, laying it gently down in front of her.

She'd never felt so emotionally conflicted looking at an accessory before. Or...perhaps, it wasn't just an accessory, was it? At least, not to her village. Not to her. It was proof of her capability, of her competence. It was proof that she was no longer the useless, quirkless nobody that could only rely on her textbook intelligence. It was proof that she was _enough_. Enough to be a Hero, if she so decided. 

Sakura was used to feeling a sense of pride swell her chest whenever her gaze caught the metal; however, the sentiments she felt in that moment did not feel the same. In this case, a vitriolic emotion corroded the inside of her chest; an impulsive, harmful attempt at cauterising her fresh wounds. She felt wistful - a longing feeling she'd never quite felt before, looking at it.

Her hands reached out to grasp at the metal, brushing the dirt off with a sense of maternal loving that had only recently come to her, it seemed. Her fingers idly traced the Konohagakure symbol etched flawlessly into the headband's steel.

Sucking in a small breath, she tucked the headband away carefully on the bathroom sink, pushing it behind a few shampoo bottles so that it wouldn't be visible on initial glance. Perhaps it was best if she left it here before she came back. She'd hate for anything to happen to it.  
  
She turned and made her way out of the bathroom, dragging herself down the stairs to where All Might was waiting for her. He perked up when he noticed her arrival, sending her a small salute.

"Hop on, Young Sakura! I'll get us there in no time!" He boomed another laugh as he kneeled, allowing Sakura to slip her lithe arms around his neck and stick to him with miniscule amounts of chakra, lest he miraculously lose his grip on her and have her plummet to her inevitable death.

"Please don't go so fast agai- _ACK!"_

All Might chortled loudly as they soared through the air.

* * *

Sakura refused to let her utter incredulity show on her countenance as she stared at the Principal of UA. He sat proudly, hands laced in front of him with a small smile as his eyes flitted over Sakura and flickered back to All Might. His suited attire and the likes spoke of his professionalism, and the idiocy of what would be if you were not to take him seriously.

It didn't account for the fact that the man was a talking, sapient, _mouse_. A large mouse. Man-mouse.

"All Might! How nice of you to drop by." The mouse-man hummed, smiling widely as his eyes creased upwards kindly. His voice was not as high-pitched as Sakura had imagined. His beady gaze turned to the small pinkette. "I assume this was the girl of whom you spoke of over the phone?"

"Yes. The matter of which I need to attend to, is, obviousy...shelter is becoming difficult to maintain whilst I am at work." All Might explained, shadowed face pulled into a small grimace. "I am sure you understand that, with my principals, I cannot allow this girl to be sent to an orphanage or anything of the sort. Senju-san's own apprentice...I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Sakura did not speak, afraid of the curses that would tumble out of her mouth if she did. Hollow, jade eyes stared at the mahogany bark of the Principal's desk as the girl clutched her fists tightly at her sides. Principal Nezu noted her refusal to meet his eyes.

_Due to guilt, perhaps?_ He internally questioned, but decided not to dwell on the theory.

"I do understand, All Might. Not to worry." Nezu responded, offering yet another gentle smile. He shifted in his seat before hopping off and approaching the window to gaze out at the surrounding campus, his hands neatly laced behind his back.

_Short,_ Sakura idly mused.

"The only worry of mine is that we may be breaking our own forged rules by allowing someone who is neither staff nor student to reside on campus. Not that I have any issues with it myself, as you know that I myself was quite close with Senju-san..." His face twisted into something that expressed his melancholy, without breaking his facade of happiness too much. He quickly broke into a smile, as if to dispel to tension in the air. _"However!_ I am the Principal! So who cares!?" 

Sakura twitched at his unpredictable mannerisms.

"I trust that you'll keep her in check if anything does happen, All Might. After all, no matter how trustworthy she may seem, she is a stranger, in strangers' land. It is not uncommon for the overwhelmed to rapidly lose their temper." A thought passed over Nezu as he pressed his finger to his chin and glanced upwards. "And that would be undesirable, considering Senju-san's own destructive tendencies whenever fury happened to overcome her..."

"A-Aa..." All Might muttered concerningly, his own features pinching in anxiety as he reminisced about her multiple ire-fueled breakdowns. "Anyway...will you have her stay in your office, or do you have something different planned?"

Nezu hummed to himself, stroking his chin. He then smiled, approaching the taciturn girl and leaning down to meet her eyes. His thin, lithe tail swayed idly behind him as the child's emerald orbs snapped up to meet his.

"Sakura-san, tell me. What are your plans for the future?" He questioned, lacing his hands neatly behind him as he tilted his head. The pinkette's mouth twisted in uncertainty as her eyes slid off to the side in thought.

"Although its only a fleeting thought, I have...recently entertained the idea of pursuing a career in Heroics--"

"Great!" Nezu interrupted, clapping his hands together and startling the girl who grumbled in annoyance and fixed him with a glare. The Principal paid no mind to her chagrin and spun to face All Might. "It would benefit her to see how Heroics classes work, then. It would be great to see Sakura-san attend UA in the future. How do you feel about her being in the class whilst you teach?"

In other words, Nezu was going to glue her to All Might's side. The Number One Hero wasn't too sure how he felt about that, but nonetheless he acquiesced with a nod.

"I wouldn't be opposed to it. As long as she has something to do whilst I work." He accepted, his blinding grin back in place as he threw out a thumbs up. "I hope this will be a good opportunity for you to learn the ropes of what it means to be a Hero, Young Sakura!"

"It helps that you only teach practicals. I trust that she will not bore herself in your classes." Nezu chimed in, holding out a pointer finger as he laughed slightly. He turned to the young girl with a beam that didn't quite seem to meet his narrowed eyes. "Please behave yourself whilst in my school, _hm?"_

Sakura internalised a shudder.

_**Is he threatening us, Outer?**_ Inner whispered, an underlying tone of fear in her voice.

_L-Let's not be so hasty_, Sakura placated, swallowing slightly. No doubt, there was some hint of warning in his voice. He would not tolerate anything less than her full cooperation.

"Yes, Sir..." She replied, nodding quickly as a small bead of sweat formed on the side of her forehead. 

Her fear was only slightly dispelled when he gave a pleased grin to her response. 

"And don't forget - enjoy yourself! I do not want for your first experience in UA to be as dull as mine had been!" Nezu laughed loudly. "Lab tests, mazes, cheese! _Oh, how they had underestimated me..."_

Sakura paled at his sudden change in demeanour as the Principal grabbed his tea and sipped it slowly, chuckling darkly as his beady eyes spoke of the retaliation he had offered to his offenders.

_**No doubt about it now - this guy's bat shit crazy!** _Inner rushed in a panic. Sakura couldn't muster up any defence for the mouse-man at this point, left with staring openly in horror at the Principal.

"Oops! My sadistic side slipped out!" The Principal's fluttering laugh cut through the harsh air, another complete 180 from his previous antics. Sakura quickly averted her gaze in a nervous frenzy, afraid to be the next target of his sadism. "Now, please go and set up your first class, All Might."

Sakura gratefully took the offered opportunity to immediately bolt it out of the frightening Principal's office when he had ushered them away.

* * *

When All Might dragged her along to his first class, Sakura was not expecting to meet bright periwinkle when she first stepped into the room.

"Wha-!" Nejire slapped her hands to her mouth and puffed out her cheeks to quickly silence her outburst, ignoring the looks of confusion she had gotten for it. 

Sakura quickly shrunk back, ignoring the collective stares of the students as she hurriedly made her way to the back of the class. She didn't blame them for staring. She felt terrible for being a liability anyway.

"Psst! _Pssst!"_ Sakura raised her eyes, flickering to meet the blue-haired girl's as she hunched in the corner of the class. Nejire subtly waved her arms at her, grinning when Sakura finally raised her head to look at her. She cocked an eyebrow, mouthing, _"What are you doing here?"_

Sakura shrugged anxiously, averting her eyes in embarrassment as she curled more into the back of the room. She ignored Nejire's whispers until All Might finally announced that they were moving onto the battlefield, to which Sakura sighed in relief and quickly moved out of the room to avoid Nejire's questioning.

\- - -

"You know that girl?" Mirio questioned his friend, nudging her and motioning his head towards the pinkette who quickly snuck out of the room after All Might mentioned the training grounds. 

"Yeah. She was here yesterday." Nejire replied with a nod, staring at the door with wide, curious eyes. "I wonder why she's here again? I'll have to ask her...and also her Quirk, too. I never asked. And I'll also ask her about-!"

"Don't you think that would overwhelm the poor girl? She already looked pretty anxious when she came in here...maybe you should tone it down a little." The blond offered with a nervous grin, rubbing the back of his head. He turned to the black-haired boy next to him whom had his head firmly pressed against the desk. "Don't you think so, Tamaki?"

"_Whatever...I don't want to do training...I want to go home..._" It seemed the boy had stopped functioning long ago, eyes swirling as he curled his arms protectively around his stomach and hunched further into himself.

"Haha! Amajiki, you flea!" Nejire laughed boisterously, clapping the boy on the back as he startled with a choke. 

_"Yosh!_ Let's go, then! We've got training to get to!" Mirio encouraged, punching the air strangely. Nejire smiled at her weird friend, wondering why she endorsed his unorthodox acts but nonetheless enjoying the amusement.

* * *

"Welcome to Training Ground 5, students!" All Might's booming voice called through the microphones littering the grounds. "This exercise will be a simple rescue and protect mission. There will be a hero and a villain team, decided by the hat!" A collective sound of the majority of the students groaning met the intercom's microphone in response. "One person will be assigned as the hostage for this training exercise..." rustling was heard through the speakers as All Might picked out a name, "...and the hat says that it's Yamamoto Ren! Congratulations on being captured by the villains, unlucky hostage Yamamoto!"

"I hate your hat!" Snapped the assigned hostage.

"Now, the hero teams will be rescuing the hostage from the villain teams, whom will be located behind that large wall - crafted by Cementoss - with the hostage, who will be restrained in a chair." All Might continued. "The Hero team will have two options - you can choose to first rescue the hostage and then capture the villains in your provided handcuffs, or, for those who are less confident in their offensive abilities and more powerful in their defense, you can take the hostage back to the circle drawn on the ground behind you. There, your job will be to hold off the villains for a remaining five minutes until help arrives. Remember - your main priority is to keep the hostage safe. Now, good luck!"

"Hero Team C - Satomo, Tsubaki and Hitoru versus Villain Team G - Yuutoro, Honoka and Hanashima! Hostage, get in position!" All Might ordered. "Battle, start!" 

Sakura sat back, observing the large screen in front of her as the villain and hero team dueled it out. She glanced at All Might, curiosity etched into her face.

"Is this what you usually do in your classes?" She questioned, to which he turned to her with a grin.

"Yes. My practicals usually consist of battles between a procured hero and villain team, although I will also do sole rescue exercises when I feel that my class needs more work on it." He explained. The girl nodded, turning back to the screen. 

"It looks fun." She admitted quietly. All Might boomed a laugh.

"Of course it does. It's my class!" 

It didn't take long for the hero team to come out on top. One of the Heroes had had a paralysis Quirk, which had come in handy when it came to restraining the villains. They had opted for the offensive option rather than the defensive, meaning that the other students were stood silently on the side, not being needed.

These matches repeated themselves, sometimes with the villain team coming out on top. It was a miraculous display of Quirks that Sakura felt befitted the top Hero class. One called match in particular caught Sakura's attention immediately, however.

"Hero Team A - Hadou, Togata, and Amajiki versus Villain Team D - Watanabe, Nakamura, and Tanaka!"

When the battle started, Sakura felt herself leaning closer to the screen.

"Hm? You're paying a little more attention now. Do you see someone that interests you?" All Might quizzed, narrowing his eyes and looking over the participants in analysis.

"Not necessarily..." Sakura mumbled, scratching her head. She pointed meekly at Nejire, who was blasting herself through the air with some sort of spiral. "She's the one I met yesterday, remember?"

"Ah, how could I forget?" All Might responded in a hum. "So, you're curious about her strength?" Sakura nodded. "No need to doubt her. She's very powerful. One of my top students."

"Her Quirk looks versatile." Sakura agreed with a nod, tugging her knees closer to her chest as Nejire blasted the opponents away with her Quirk. Her eyes dragged over to the black-haired one who hung somewhat behind Nejire, extending out an octopus arm and entangling the villain team. "He looks like his Quirk is useful, too..."

"Amajiki Tamaki. His Quirk allows him to manifest into anything he eats, as long as it is still in his digestive system. Although, he needs to work on his confidence." All Might informed, placing his hands on his hips. "And as for Young Hadou, her Quirk allows her to release her energy in the form of spiral-like waves. Versatile indeed. However, sometimes, she can be naive. There is always room for improvement in a Hero, after all."

Sakura's eyes honed in on the blond behind them who struggled to keep up as his gym clothes kept falling off of him. He looked less powerful compared to his teammates. The pinkette blinked widely, before pointing at the blond on the screen.

"And him?" She asked. All Might was silent for a few moments, before speaking.

"Don't underestimate the boy, Young Sakura. He...is one of my prized students, after all." Was the first thing he said. Sakura glanced up at him in confusion. "His name is Togata Mirio, and his Quirk allows him to make his body or parts of his body intangible, meaning he can pass through anything. A troublesome and useless Quirk if you don't know how to properly handle it. Fortunately, Young Togata has been able to turn his Quirk into something powerful with his own creativity. Although, it evidently still needs a lot of work..."

"...I see." It sounded like her own Chakra Manipulation Quirk, with how he worded the necessity of needing to be able to know what to do with it.

She hugged her knees tighter to her chest, deep lines etching the underside of her dulled emerald eyes, corroborating the abhorrent night - of what could barely pass as sleep - she had experienced. She'd knocked herself out in her own exhaustion, but it had done nothing to energise her in the morning. Her head tilted slightly and her eyes drooped at regular intervals throughout the match; she forced her eyes to stay awake so that she could witness the result.

And, as it seemed, that result had been disappointing. What had initially looked like a propitious team of up-and-coming Heroes had proved utterly incompetent. 

Hadou Nejire. Sakura already had an idea of her character. Her fighting style was promising, and her Quirk was very powerful. However, her weaknesses caused an imbalance between her strengths and what Sakura noted down as her being inadequate in. 

For example; like All Might had stated, she was naive. Incredibly so. The pinkette had been forced to watch as the blue-haired teenager fell for one of her opponents crying out in faux pain; she had immediately froze in her attack, dropping her guard and running forward to check if her opponent was okay. Sakura had winced when a merciless fist had harshly met Hadou's chin when her crocodile-teared classmate had lifted their head.

It seemed that as well as naivety, she also had slight issue with predicting attacks. Feints had confused the girl at regular points throughout the match, Sakura had seen. She relied more on instinct rather than tactic, and that meant she couldn't necessarily comprehend that her opponent could throw a slow left hook whilst simultaneously hooking her from the right. She expected them to follow through with all of their attacks - or, atleast, that was the impression that Sakura had derived from her analysis. As she prided herself in the element of tactical analysis, Sakura knew that her chances were in favour of her being accurate in her assessment.

Amajiki Tamaki. He was...better than expected. Certainly not as outgoing as Nejire, from what Sakura could see, and that proved disadvantageous in battle. He had often failed to put forward his own initiative, watching as his opponents knocked his classmates about in worry, despite the fact that he seemed to stay rooted to the spot in the time his aid would have been preferable. It seemed he also had slightly too much faith in his teammates that they would be able to handle their own battles.

He had frequently halted in his attacks - this simple fact had immensely frustrated Sakura, much more than she was willing to admit for such a miniscule detail. Despite having multiple opportunities to defeat his opponents, he had hesitated - perhaps in fear of hurting them. Too pacifistic, in Sakura's critical opinion. Pacifism; such an idealistic endeavour didn't belong in the Hero course, even though ideas of Heroism and Pacifism seemed to correlate. After all, no Hero was going to defeat villains if they didn't even have the heart to fight them in the first place.

Or, perhaps, it was simply cowardice. And the same applied in such case.

And, finally...Togata Mirio.

Sakura had no words. How had he even gotten into the Hero course in the _first_ place?

He had been _atrocious;_ stumbling over his feet every few seconds and not able to hit a single solid hit on anyone. He'd slipped up and erroneously hit Amajiki in the arm, but Sakura didn't think that counted. 

He hadn't even grasped a single thread of understanding of his Quirk, evident by how recklessly and incorrectly he used it. Even so...Sakura had glanced at All Might during the television of his mistakes; the blond hero had sensed her gaze and craned his neck...flashing an oblivious smile. Sakura had startled at his audacity - _this_ haphazard, dead-last student was what he considered talent?

...Or, perhaps _'oblivious'_ was the wrong description to his smile. In contrast to what the pinkette had thought, she instead mulled it over and decided that his grin had been the exact opposite of oblivious. He wasn't denying anything, despite how the student he had told Sakura not to underestimate was currently tripping over his own feet on the screen behind him.

Instead, it seemed like he knew something that she didn't. Was _she_ the oblivious one?

Sakura startled when a large, calloused hand landed on her shoulder and shocked her out of her musings. Wide-eyed, she peered at the hand on her shoulder before trailing up the muscular forearm and up to the owner; All Might. He provided her with a blinding, pearly-white smile.

"The matches have all finished, Young Sakura. I will attend to my students and have a discussion with them about the matches, but you are welcome to make your way to my next class as I do so." He offered her. Sakura nodded slowly, mouth twisted in uncertainty.

As he blasted off down towards the training grounds, Sakura stared at the empty spot he had previously occupied. Jade eyes swum with an enigmatic emotion; an unorthodox feeling that ate away at her.

Why did he trust her so much? She was nothing but a stranger to him, despite how he tried to make out that he had some kind of obligation to take care of her merely because Tsunade was her sensei.

She didn't deny that a certain question had floated around inside of her head for a while after he had taken her in. His kindness...was it truly generosity that pushed him to do such a thing?

Would he have done the same thing if she hadn't been Tsunade's apprentice?

...Probably not. Sakura knew that. If her circumstances were any different, she'd probably have been bleeding out on the dirty tarmac outside at that very moment...

Silence reigned over her in a pregnant pause, before she tugged her depressing thoughts to the back of her mind and pushed herself up off of the floor. Idly, she trailed back to the classroom, peering into nearby classes as she passed them. She had been forced to duck and scuttle a little quicker when certain students met her eyes in response.

Once again, she stationed herself at the very back of the class and nuzzled slightly closer to the wall. She might as well get comfortable considering she didn't particularly care to watch this lesson...

She positively shrunk in on herself when the new class of students poured into the classroom upon that exact thought; returning from whatever they had been doing elsewhere in their previous class.

It'd be a long two and a half hours before free period, she decided as students began to notice her existence.

* * *

*_the ring of the bell echoes throughout the classroom and hallway_*

Sakura startled awake, wide eyes immediately flitting over to the vibrating bell placed on the wall. After a few seconds of the bell reverberating throughout the school, the tension left the girl's shoulders and she sighed in relief. It was finally lunch time.

Her stomach growled, corroborating Sakura's identical thoughts of how hungry she was. As opposed to the first lesson All Might had taught, the following two had been a lot more boring than she had expected, despite the lack of in-class theory work.

The girl lackadaisically pulled herself up from the ground, before slamming her hands down on the desk in front of her to stabalise herself as her knees almost collapsed underneath her. She'd been sat in that position for so long that her legs had become deoxygenated. 

Channeling a slight bit of chakra to her legs, she relished in relief as her muscles loosened. That being said, it was only coincidence when her face collided with All Might's large, chiseled chest on her way out to search for said Pro Hero.

"Young Sakura! My apologies - you are so small that I didn't see you there! Hahaha!" All Might guffawed loudly, striking a pose with his hands on his hips. Sakura blinked unamusedly up at the man, making sure to droop her eyelids to convey her unimpressed countenance. He grinned nervously. "That was a joke. I'm sure you'll grow up just as...large and terrifying, as your master."

Sakura's jade eyes flickered down towards the ground, any previous room for joking around instantly evaporating from her form. She simply couldn't shake this feeling of exhaustion, no matter how many naps she took.

"She wasn't terrifying." Sakura mumbled in defence, clouded eyes still fixed onto a spot on the ground. Her mind formed a certain image of Tsunade staring down at her with a sharp grin and dangerous red eyes, and she pursed her lips sourly. "...Maybe a little. But she was kinder than anyone I knew. You just had to get on her good side...which is admittedly hard to do. Take it from me."

All Might cracked a small, understanding smile.

"That's right, Young Sakura. She certainly was one of the kindest people I ever knew - and I have met a lot of Pro Heroes willing to put their life on the line." His large, scarred hand fell onto her shoulder, and the pinkette pretended not to notice the tightness in his trademark smile. "She was willing to help anyone...friend or foe. It was a trait I more than commended her on whenever I garnered the chance. Having a healing Quirk must set off something maternal in the DNA, because she fussed over all of us like a mother hen if we got even the slighest scratch. It was quite endearing, honestly..."

"I can imagine." Sakura cracked a watery smile, eyes swimming with something wistful as she kept her head lowered. When she raised her head, her emerald eyes had gained a shine. "She was...amazing, wasn't she? Too amazing...How do I live up to someone so...so...impactful? Life-changing?"

"Senju-san provided you with the resources. Now, you have to find your own way. You have to pave your own path. She made that possible for you...so don't disregard her training." All Might advised, stretching a hand out and gently ruffling the girl's tousled, bubblegum locks. She glanced up at him, staring for a few moments, before falling into a small smile and huffing a feathery laugh.

"You're right. She always thought I'd be able to do amazing things. She told me such too many times to count." Sakura's smile widened, and her eyes creased upwards. "And...well, who am I to disappoint?"

* * *

_"Uwaaah!_ How _cute!"_

Sakura's eye twitched infinitesimally as the R-18 hero pulled and prodded at her round, flushed cheeks, petting her rosy locks as if she were some pampered canine. Pro Hero Midnight, she had come to learn, was very vulnerable to things she considered precious. The little girl in front of her just happened to be one of them.

"Why don't you consider providing the girl with a little breathing space, Midnight..." A dark man donning a large, beige trenchcoat chimed in, the exasperation lacing his careful tone conveying to the pinkette that such behaviour was not uncommon of the woman.

"Why don't _you_ keep your mouth shut, Ectoplasm! _I'm bonding!"_ The midnight-haired hero craned her neck to snap at her officious colleague, turning back to Sakura as her expression smoothed back over into a loving swoon as she caressed one of the girl's unruly bangs. "Just ignore the scary man, Sakura-chan. He likes to interject in circumstances that far from concern him. Megalomania, I believe they call it."

"Could you be _any louder?"_ A muffled, deep voice drawled from a suspicious yellow sleeping bag placed in the corner of the staff room. 

Emerald eyes flitted over to the object as it began to squirm - not unlike the process of metamorphosis - and Sakura had to repress a shudder when the head of a very unkempt, homeless-looking man emerged from the opening. The pinkette froze as frightened eyes analysed the man whom stared deep into her soul with dead, half-lidded obsidian depths.

The silence was deafening as neither teacher nor girl made any attempt to alleviate the taciturn atmosphere. 

Mouth twisted into uncertainty, Sakura blinked and performed a rigid bow; a small bead of sweat collecting of the side of her forehead.

"M-My name is Sakura." She hesitantly introduced, still perturbed by his hollow, exhausted eyes.

He continued to stare at her in silence for a total of seven unblinking seconds, before rolling back over and facing the wall and returning to his unorthodox slumber without so much as a hum in response. Sakura blanched at his audacity.

"So callous, Eraser!" A new, very loud voice called as a man with long, blond hair and sunglasses kicked the door shut behind him. When he noticed the girl's startled gaze on him, he flashed her a pearly white grin. "Hey, kid! Name's Present Mic. Are you a listener?"

The pinkette remained quiet, blinking in confusion as her hands began to clam up at the attention. All Might shifted beside her with a small huff of laughter.

"She hasn't heard of many pro heroes from Musutafu." He explained, before throwing out a thumbs up. "However, I'm sure she will get used to the eccentricities of Japan's heroes soon enough!"

"I will try my best." The girl spoke up, politely nodding her head as her gaze flitted to each pro hero in the room to gauge their reactions. "You are all very friendly." 

Her eyes slid to the yellow mound in the corner of the room and her eyebrow twitched, forcing herself not to externally retract her statement.

_Most of you, _she bitterly corrected nonetheless.

"How sweet! You're so cute!" Midnight swooned once more, clasping her hands by her face as she shook with unadulterated happiness. "I could really just gobble you up!"

Sakura smiled nervously at the woman as she shuffled discretely away from her, jade eyes sliding away imperceptibly and flickering towards the door when a flash of blue caught her eye. A strange sight of Nejire pressed against the face of the glass, flanked by her two classmates Sakura had seen during their class, imprinted in her memory.

"H...Hadou-san?" Sakura muttered, blinking and knitting her brows in confusion.

_"I knew you'd be in here!"_ Nejire's muffled voice carried through the glass, as she waved a carefully-wrapped bento. Her anxious classmate - Amajiki, she recalled - was forced to dodge underneath one of the blue-haired girl's enthusiastic waves when she almost knocked him out in her reckless excitement.

"Oh, Hadou-chan!" Midnight squealed, positively delighted by the girl's appearance. "Come in! What brings you here?"

The first-year, overcome by her own vigour, pushed open the door and immediately stumbled over her own feet. She quickly righted herself, standing upright as she threw the teachers a bright grin. Amajiki and Togata trailed in silently behind her; the ravenhead averting his eyes as the blond took the opportunity to rake his eyes across every detail of the staff room.

"I want Sakura-chan! I want to eat with her!" She exclaimed, bright indigo eyes sparkling. Her eyes bounced around on each face in the room and she questioned, "Is she allowed? Can we eat? I want to ask her a lot of questions! Why is she here? Is she supposed to stay in here? If I make sure she doesn't run off, can she eat with us?"

Midnight gave a feathery laugh, waving a dismissive hand as she played the facade that she wasn't somewhat flustered by the girl's rapid-fire questioning. All Might cleared his throat from next to her, garnering the first-year's attention.

"She is supposed to be staying with me at all times, I'm afraid." All Might informed; Nejire instantly deflated. He was silent for a few moments as the first-year fixed him with a set of pleading eyes, before sighing in dejection. "I mean...well...I suppose as long as you use the empty 1-A classroom, then it shouldn't be an issue...but bring her straight back--"

"Got it! Thank you, All Might!" Nejire called back, having aready zoomed over to the pinkette and scooping her up, disappearing within a flash.

All Might blinked slowly, hand still raised mid-sentence before he lowered it back towards his lap.

"Sometimes the self-driven quality of the UA students can frighten me." He admitted drolly.

* * *

"Hadou...is this really necessary?" Mirio questioned nervously as the blue-haired girl fussed over the rosette. 

Presenting a cute, neatly-tied bento in front of the girl, Nejire turned around with a bright grin, "Of course it is! Oh, here, Sakura-chan you can have my bento I'll just get another one-"

Mirio sweatdropped as Nejire returned to placating the young girl, words falling out in jumbled mess considering her own enthusiasm. Turning to face Tamaki, who was similarly disconcerted by the new arrival, Mirio shrugged and smiled in defeat, as if questioning; '_what can you do?_'.

"Okay!" Nejire's abrupt shout of enthusiasm startled all in the room. She clapped her hands together with a wide grin, spinning around and pointing at Mirio, who blanched in sudden surprise. "This guy is Togata Mirio! He's a real dunce sometimes!"

Mirio flinched in dejection.

"But he's very nice! Also, don't bother asking why his face is all bland like that! I already tried!" Nejire informed, eyes still creased upwards in her contradictory expression. She spun to point at Tamaki, who similarly made to hide himself in fear of what was to be said. "This is the flea, Amajiki Tamaki! He's a coward!"

"Hadou-san..." Tamaki's low, nervous grumble of protest chimed. 

"But...!" Nejire dropped into silence, mouth still curved positively into a smile and eyes still creased kindly upwards. Everyone in the room remained quiet, waiting for Nejire to finish her sentence. Alas, she spun to face Tamaki, clapping her hands together as she smiled even brighter and tilted her head. "Sorry, Amajiki! I can't think of anything to compliment you on!"

Tamaki's soul fled his body as he slumped where he stood; a hollow carcass of what he once was. 

"He's very loyal! A very loyal friend!" Mirio boomed, huffing his chest out; determined to wipe the crestfallen look off of his friend's face. "Also, he's good at Mathematics!"

"Oh, right!" Nejire nodded vehemently, before wide, indigo eyes turned to blink at her friend. "Are you actually good at Mathematics, Amajiki?"

Tamaki mumbled something incoherent under his breath, shrinking into his blazer as he avoided all gazes.

"Oh, sorry! I forgot that you don't know how to receive praise like a normal human! You don't function very well, do you?" 

"Hadou, cut it out. He's getting embarrassed!"

"He's _always_ embarrassed, Togata."

Sakura's jade eyes flitted to each speaker in the room, wide and flummoxed as she blinked in utter confusion. She was startled by the trio's shenanigans. They seemed to get along quite well, despite their unorthodox antics.

"Um...I already know their names." Sakura spoke up, garnering the attention of the first years. Flushing lightly under the unceremonious, interrogative spotlight, she rushed to clarify, "I-I watched your first lesson. All Might told me when I asked about you."

Her explanation seemed to dispel the inquisitive air around them.

"Oh. You asked about us? Why? Did you like how we fought? Did you think we were strong? What did All Might tell you? Just our names?" Nejire fired, leaning over the table on her elbows as her eyes sparkled in interest. Sakura had assumed she'd quelled the questioning, but her response had only seemed to foment further enquiry.

"I remembered you from yesterday, so admittedly I was already a little curious..." Sakura replied, her gaze sliding down to the bento Nejire had generously gifted her, considering she had no money to buy her own food from the cafeteria - (Sakura was sure that the principal would allow her food for free if she so asked, but she wasn't about to tell Nejire that and dampen her gracious mood. Besides, did Sakura truly want to face that terrifying mouse once more, even if to ask for sustenance?) "Your fight was..."

Sakura winced, her recollection of the battle only criticism and insults. Forcing an expression of reminiscence, she threw the three first years a polite smile.

"Great. It was great." The lie artfully spilled from her lips. 

Why she felt the need to dissimulate the truth was a foreign matter. However, looking at the hopeful expressions of the three, honestly...how could she dare tell them that what they had built themselves up for needed a lot more improvement than they were expecting? 

"You all fight very well." A faux expression of awe adorned her porcelain features.

"R-Really? I-I didn't...do much..." Tamaki's quiet objection was almost carried off considering the lack of volume. He grew red immediately, slamming his head on the table and regretting the fact that he had spoken up at all.

"Huh...you must've seen a few things wrong with it, though, right? I mean, it's not that hard to imagine that I need a ton more advice on how to fight properly. My Quirk is practically useless at the stage I'm at now. I need a lot more work before I can confidently call myself a Pro Hero." Mirio added, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Sakura blinked owlishly at the blond. 

He..._welcomed_ criticism? That was...unexpected. 

Sakura would have thought that he would cave in at even the slightest insult towards his abilities. That's what she would have done, before she was polished up by Tsunade. Well, perhaps she shouldn't have underestimated the determination of a UA student.

"Y-Yeah. You're right. I-I did notice flaws." Sakura stammered, the guilt still eating away at her despite the fact that she now knew that Togata was not opposed to criticism. Her eyes slid off to the side. "For you, Togata-san...um..."

"Go on. I want to know what I did wrong." Mirio's blinding grin only served to fuel Sakura's impending penitence as she puffed her cheeks and beads of shameful sweat rolled down the side of her face. 

"I-I mean, your determination will certainly make up for it...but...you really don't have control of your Quirk. I didn't really understand how you made it into the course." Sakura burst, clenching her eyes tightly shut in self-reproach when the insult slipped from her lips. She waited for his retort of defence, but nothing came. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of the blond abashedly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is that so? Well, you're right...I don't really have control over it yet...but I swear I'll get it down eventually!" His dogged countenance cut through the tension as he pumped a fist into the air.

"I believe in you, Togata. Do you believe in him, Sakura-chan?" Nejire questioned, big blue eyes turning to blink widely at her in curiosity. 

Sakura analysed the first year in front of her for a few silent moments, before huffing a small laugh and flickering her eyes back up to meet Togata's. She smiled widely, a genuine curvature gracing her pink lips.

"Why not?" She agreed, eliciting a wide beam from Mirio.

"I won't let you down!" He promised, positioning his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out, not unlike a certain number-one Pro. When he was done with his display, he dropped his arms and tilted his head slightly. "Anyway, all that aside, I guess I'll just address the elephant in the room, huh? What are you doing at UA? Pardon my rudeness if I'm wrong, but you look too young to be a student."

"No...you're right. I'm not a student." Sakura assured, waving a dismissive hand as she shook her head gently. She opened her mouth, preparing to notify him that she was here for a very, very different reason. But she snapped it closed, as her eyes darkened. 

The smell of metallic blood filled her senses, and once again, she was back in Konoha.

_Ear-shattering screams reverberate and echo throughout the village-turned-battlefield, and Sakura clenches her eyes shut and slams her calloused palms over her ears so that she doesn't have to hear it anymore._

_"Naruto...where's Naruto...?" She whispers, hunching over and muttering incoherently to herself. She doesn't want to open her eyes. She doesn't want to face reality. She repeats her question like a mantra._

**Dead. Pain got him. Took his Quirk, remember? You remember seeing it, Outer. We watched it happen.**

No. No, no no no no. No, I didn't see anything. I don't-

**Fine. Since you're so obstinate, I'll just show you! Stop denying it!**

_The vision flashes before her eyes again, and she's met with the sight of a large crater. Inside, is _that_ man. In front of him, is Naruto. He seems to be held down by poles protruding through his arms and physically pinning him to the floor. Sakura slaps a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry._

"_**You are the one with the Kyuubi Quirk, aren't you? The one capable of being passed on?**" His voice is deep and cutting. She would never forget it._

"_I'll kill you! I'll kill you! Let me go! I need to make sure everyone's safe! You hurt them- you BASTARD!" Naruto's heartwrenching screams shake her to her core. He writhes and turns, but all he is doing is carving larger holes into his body._

"_**Quirks capable of such are a force to be reckoned with. As such, I'll be taking yours...so that my mistake of being too lenient the first time will not repeat itself...**" Too lenient the first time? What does he mean?_

_"GAAAAAHHH!" _

_Sakura quickly finds herself spinning back into reality at his piercing scream that deafens all around him; the scream that dug and clawed at the very culmination of her being._

She blinked widely, meeting three sets of widely-blown eyes, full of concern. They all gazed at her as if she were going to drop any minute now. Not that she didn't feel like doing so.

"Hey, are you okay...?" Mirio questioned, rooted to his spot. Sakura merely hoped she hadn't said anything aloud.

"Hm? Why wouldn't I be?" She retorted, feigning ignorance as she tilted her head to the side. 

"Ah...It's just..." He trailed off, indigo orbs sliding off to the side. Of course, Sakura assumed that he'd at least noticed her strange and abrupt disassociation. "Nevermind. As long as you say you're okay, I won't pry."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously for a few additional moments, before forcefully dragging her eyes down to Hado-her bento. She remained silent as she carefully unwrapped it, almost gawking at the cute stylisation of the food inside. Making a quick glance up at Nejire, the girl's smile told her that it was okay for her to proceed. 

"...So, why _are_ you here?" Mirio questioned again, pursing his lips as he leaned against the desk behind him. Sakura threw him a deadpan expression, although the intensity seemed to be lessened by how her cheeks were stuffed with rice, gifting her the docile illusion of a chipmunk preparing for hibernation.

"I thought you said you wouldn't pry." Sakura's muffled voice retorted, as she jabbed her two chopsticks at the blond in accusation.

He held up his hands in forfeit, a bead of sweat collecting on the side of his forehead as he smiled anxiously at her threatening tone.

"Come on, I can't deny the fact that I'm curious..." He chuckled nervously, abashedly moving to rub the back of his neck. He donned a juvenile pout as he tilted his head. "You seriously can't tell us _anything_?"

A strangely taciturn Nejire and Sakura caught eyes for the briefest of moments, before the pinkette tore her heavy gaze away quickly. The girl returned to her bento, humming slightly.

"Something happened, I'm being sheltered by one of your teachers now. They saw it fit that I attend UA with them as I can't be left unattended by myself." Sakura curled further in on herself. "After all, I'm just a stranger to them. But...I don't get why they would go so far as to care for a stranger? I'm just a liability. Why waste their efforts?"

"Sometimes helping people is all someone wants to do. You don't need a reason for that." Mirio argued, his lips upturning into a bright grin.

"The feeling you get when you help someone _is_ the reward." Nejire chimed in, holding a pointer finger up as she grinned. She turned towards Tamaki, who visibly shrunk in on himself, knowing that he was inevitably about to be yanked into the conversation. Of course, his lack of conversational efforts meant that he was going to get forced to contribute something eventually. "Right, right, Amajiki? What do you think?"

"Yes. I agree with you two." He muttered bitterly, pulling his blazer up and over his head as he began to feel nauseous.

"Mou, mou. It's so hard to get you to say anything by your own accord." Nejire whined, rolling her eyes as her hanging legs swung under the desk she sat atop, twirling a lock of her azure hair around her finger. Her eyes slyly flittered towards Sakura, who halted in her eating to meet her eyes. "Who are you staying with, now? Is it the guy you spoke to yesterday?"

Sakura took a few moments to process Nejire's subtlety, before nodding slowly. 

"Yes. I'm very lucky to be staying with a hero-"

"You're staying with a _hero!?_ That's so cool, which one!?" Mirio's sudden zeal caught her off guard, and she blinked widely up at him. After a few moments, she averted her eyes as a pink flush dusted the tips of her ears.

"I'm sorry...I-I don't think I can tell you." She responded, pushing her mouth into a firm line as guilt ate away at her when she watched his smile drop off of his face. She clutched her chopsticks tightly in her fingers. 

"...That's okay. It's for your own safety, right? So don't apologise." Mirio's bright, placating smile assured her that he was not disapproving of her reply. Disappointed, sure, but not angry at her.

_**It's not for**_** o****ur**_** safety,**_ Inner muttered, her subconscious buzzing around like an annoying fly that would not leave Sakura alone. A sharp pain in her temple almost had Sakura hiss aloud. _**Is that what you think of me, huh? You two-faced freak...**_

_I'm only two-faced because you cling to me like a disgusting amalgamation, you hypocrite,_ Sakura snapped in return. _You're like a parasite. Go infect another host._

**_I see how it is, Outer_**, Inner grumbled, before slowly fading into the back of her mind, **_I'll make sure to keep you up tonight with even more nightmares of our dead friends, okay? Thank me later~_**

Before Sakura could mentally bite out a _fuck you_, Outer had completely regressed into her subconscious once more.

Glancing up, Nejire had grown quite taciturn, a speculative expression on her countenance. Just as she inhaled enough air to speak, the bell interrupted whatever was about to spill out of the bluenette's mouth.

She looked towards the bell, blinking guilelessly, before a wide grin split her lips.

"Time to get you back to the staff room before we get trampled on in a crowded hallway!"

"That did _not_ feel like forty minutes..."

* * *

After delivering the pinkette back to All Might, she had been forced to sit through further practicals, before the end of the day finally hit.

On the way back, questions were asked.

"How do you feel, doing this until we can formulate an official plan to take care of you?" 

Sakura's arms tightened around the Pro Hero's neck as they soared through the sky. The feeling was exhilirating; she didn't think she'd ever grow tired of how it felt to be carressed by the wind in such a way.

"I...don't mind. UA students, they're..." Sakura trailed off, mind attempting to conjure up a suitable word as the eccentric trio of first years appeared in her mind. A small smile graced her chapped lips. "...lively."

"Of course! UA's spirit has taken ahold of them. You can expect more of that." All Might chortled, mirth swimming in his eyes as his grin stretched further.

"I like them. So I don't mind." Sakura whispered, curling further in on herself. "They remind me--"

Sakura almost choked, unceremoniously burying her face into All Might's shoulder. The blond did not comment on the sudden wetness of his shirt, nor the trembling of her lithe form.

"...They remind me of home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise that this chapter took so long to get out. I was very stressed as I had my mock finals approaching and...well...obviously I don't need to worry about such anymore, but things have been stressful even before this pandemic, so I do apologise. I will be trying to continue as fast as possible.
> 
> Things are going quite slowly at the moment regarding chapters, and trust me, it's irritating for me especially to write it as it feels as if I am dragging it out. However, as soon as we reach the main storyline I won't have to worry about changing details along the way. Easy sailing from there boys...just gotta make sure the sails don't tear along the way. (damn i do be making up random phrases doe)
> 
> I am tempted to simply do a large timeskip to the canon timelime and explain what has happened over such time through memories, however I want things to tie together nicely before I do a timeskip and there would be no satisfaction in skipping over such important details so you'll just have to endure a little bit more if you can. One or two more chapters if I'm lucky, before I can haul ass to canon. Then, I get to use all the ideas I've written for it and no writer's block! Yay!
> 
> Finally, I hope everyone is doing well during this pandemic. Quarantine can get boring (well, I stay home 24/7 anyway so I really shouldn't be acting as if it makes a difference to my usual day-) so I get it LOL. That being said, I will try to upload more frequently now so that you have something additional to read in your spare time.
> 
> Please stay safe, everyone :)  
(And this is not in reference to solely physical maladies. Mental health is extremely important to take care of considering how many sad stories I've had to read. Some people might have even had to isolate with abusers, so I hope that you are all safe.)
> 
> P.S,  
I have recently started up a Wattpad account with the tag @Endeavourment, the same as my archive username. This is my only account! I have only uploaded my stories on archive and (will/have, depending on the time I get this chapter out) Wattpad, so please let me know if you see any of my stories being uploaded elsewhere. Please go drop comments and a vote if possible! :D


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